3 One Random Sukima
by WillieG.R
Summary: The third chapter in my Sukima series. This time around, there's a shadowy mess caused by one random Sukima, created by a silly mistake. *This story follows Misplaced, and Another Misplaced Sukima Story*
1. Chapter o

A few days after Ail and Sanae left to find Budou, Reimu Hakurei enters Makai in order to meet with Shinki.

Once in Pandemonium, she is greeted by Yumeko, who immediately leads Reimu inside for some tea and treats while she and Shinki have their meeting.

Taking a small cake, Reimu takes a small bite, gulps, takes a quick sip of tea, then says "so you want me to extend the spell card rules over to Makai in order to join it with Gensokyo..? Sounds too risky."

Shinki smiles and says "well, I'll continue to rule here, of course, and keep this place separate, but I was hoping... if you, perhaps, would allow this... it would help join the two lands in harmony."

Reimu thinks for a moment, then looks at Shinki and says "wait... I think this could work after all. It would really help you keep those powers in check."

Shinki blushes, then sips on some tea to hide her face. Reimu continues "we could also make it so your demons can visit Gensokyo, and our humans and youkai can visit here... All under supervision, of course! Sight-seeing tours, perhaps."

Shinki looks very surprised at Reimu and asks "a-are you sure it's alright? I thought you didn't want-?"

Reimu abruptly says "I've had a change of heart. As long as they are kept in check, I think they can come and visit. Besides, they'll eventually get sick of it."

Shinki smiles and asks "so it's ok after all? I mean, after what happened last time... I don't want something like that to happen again, Reimu."

Reimu smiles, gets up from her chair and heads back outside, but before leaving the room, she turns her neck and says "last time, you demons entered Gensokyo without my knowledge or permission, and, of course, I considered it an invasion. This time I have the knowledge, and some control as well. As for the spell card rule... better come up with good spell declarations. Oh, and if you're gonna use foods as names, done use real... food... please."

Shinki giggles and says "ok, I promise."

Reimu turns her face straight and says "come by to my shrine tomorrow, so we can sign a treaty, alright?"

Shinki smiles and asks "should I bring something?"

Reimu shouts "cake!"

-

After Reimu leaves, Yumeko enters the room in which the meeting had just been held.

She looks at her lady Shinki, smiles and asks "so she accepted?"

Her spirit uplifted, smiling uncontrollably, and feeling as though she can start flying at any moment, Shinki nods her head and excitedly says "not only that, she suggested we do sight-seeing tours here for the youkai and humans from Gensokyo, AND she'll allow for tours on Gensokyo for us as well!"

Yumeko looks surprised and says "well, that was totally unexpected. Wonder what brought all that up."

Shinki smiles and says "isn't it great!? It's just so amazing! Oh, I can't wait to start naming my spells..."

While Shinki talks excitedly Yumeko thinks "oh great... humans... and youkai from Gensokyo in here. This is going to be a disaster, I just know it."

Yumeko comes back from her thoughts just as Shinki says "oh, we better tell Luize! She's gonna be so excited!"

Yumeko nods, and sounding uninterested, she says "sure, sure. I'll tell her later. Lady Shinki..."

Yumeko gets closer to Shinki and asks "anything from your contact?"

Shinki's face completely changes from happily uplifted, to worried and anxious.

She says "Yumeko, it's only been a few days. I don't think they'll find it so quickly."

Yumeko looks away, trying to hide her disappointment.

Shinki stares as her and asks "Yumeko, you're not worried about them, are you?"

Yumeko gets shocked and says "er, of-of course not! J-just curious!"

Shinki looks toward Yumeko like a mother would and says "my child, it's alright. You agree with me when I say that he's a very special human... or... half-human. The point is, you don't have to be ashamed if you're worried."

Yumeko sighs, but says nothing.

Shinki smiles, wraps her arm around Yumeko's neck, which causes Yumeko to blush bright red, and says "come on, Yumeko. Let's tell the others of the news for now, alright?"

Yumeko nods while looking down in order to hide her red face and quietly says "ok my lady."

Outside, under the window, listening to the conversation is Reimu, who sighs sadly, then slowly flies away back to Gensokyo.

-

2 and Half Weeks Later:

Reimu floats on her back, on the lake behind her shrine.

Her long hair, which reaches down to her waist waves along with the water as she looks on, as if searching for something.

Beside her, Genjii looks worried and says "Reimu, this isn't healthy for you. Come on, get up and go and punish some bad youkai. You know you want to."

Reimu stares quietly at the sky and in a very low tone, she says "I sent them to their grave, didn't I?"

Genjii sighs and says "how many times do I have to tell you, you didn't send anyone to the grave. Those kids are fine, and they'll be back before you know it."

Reimu smiles as she closes her eyes and says "I hope you're right, Genjii."

Reimu is just about to fall asleep when a shadow casts itself over her, making her open her eyes and seeing Ayalina, Ail's mother, and Marisa, flying just above her.

Ayalina says "well this is something you don't see every day. A mopey shrine maiden about to catch a cold while sleeping on a lake."

Marisa smiles and says "yeah, that is a pretty rare sight, huh?"

Marisa turns to face Reimu and says "come one. I'll cut your hair after we get back... It's too long, ze."

Reimu looks confused and uncaring as Ayalina and Marisa grab her arms and pull her up, then take her back to the shrine.

Genjii looks on as the three of them fly away and says "finally. Someone that can break that block in her head!"

-

Inside the Hakurei Shrine's living room, Marisa and Ayalina have Reimu wrapped in a thick towel, serve her some hot cocoa and while Marisa and Maribel work on her hair, Ayalina says

"Reimu, your friends are very worried about you. They tell me you've been locking yourself up in your room, you barely come out, and when you do, they tell me you won't even talk to them."

Reimu looks down to the ground without responding.

Ayalina sighs and says "my son was right to be worried about you. He told me everything that has happened."

Reimu opens her eyes wide and lifts her head very suddenly, almost causing Marisa and Maribel to make a really messy cut on her hair.

Marisa says "hey, careful! You almost lost a pound here!"

Maribel asks "a pound? Miss Marisa, this isn't meat, you know!"

Marisa looks at Maribel, unable to believe her ears, but just keeps quite and continues cutting Reimu's hair.

Ignoring Marisa and Maribel, Reimu asks Ayalina "he-he did? Is he ok? And Sanae! what about Sanae!? Is she ok too!?"

Ayalina says loudly "relax, Reimu!" then lowers her voice and says "yes, they are fine. They took a detour to visit me. I must say, those two looked so worried, and yet they went and visited me. I never wanted Anilan to go through something like that, but I am sure there has to be some reason for this, right?"

Reimu looks down again and says "I-I'm sorry. He tried to tell me, but-"

Ayalina raises her voice and says "stop that, Reimu Hakurei!"

She gently lifts Reimu's face with her hand and tells her "neither Ail or Sanae hate you, resent you, or anything of that matter. In fact, they were so worried about you that they wanted to come back and take you with them. That's why I'm here, Reimu. I promised them I'd come in they're stead and make SURE you're ok."

By now, Marisa and Maribel are done with Reimu's hair and are picking up the long strands and throwing them into a waste basket.

Reimu's hair now reaches to her upper back, instead of all the way down to her waist.

Reimu notices this and turns her neck and says "th-thanks... you guys."

Marisa smiles widely and Maribel replies "you're welcome!"

-

Ayalina takes this moment and says "see? Reimu, you have so many friends here, and all are very worried about you, and so are Ail and Sanae. So why don't you snap out of this depression of yours and come back to your friends?"

Reimu looks around and notices Aya, sitting next to Mima and Suika, all looking worried at her.

She looks to the other side and notices Marisa, Renko and Maribel, all staring at her worriedly.

Reimu asks "have... have I really worried you so much?"

Aya replies "well... a little. But we all know you'll get better, right guys?"

Mima and Suika both shout "yeah!" then Mima adds "she just needs some time, right?"

Reimu turns to Marisa and the others as Marisa says "if she doesn't, I'll have to blast her and force her to come to her senses, zei~!"

Maribel adds "that's not very nice, miss Marisa. She needs love and care."

Marisa smirks and says "yup. Just what my Master Spark possesses."

Renko scoffs and says "you're too full of yourself."

Marisa stares angrily at Renko and asks "you want a taste?"

Everyone start talking amongst themselves about Reimu while she keeps turning her head around in order to look at all of them.

She starts to giggle at first, then bursts to laughter, getting everyone's attention.

After laughing for some time, she stops and notices all in the shrine looking directly at her.

She smiles back and says "sorry I worried yo so much. Even after Shikieiki talked to me about that and... I am just so worried about those two, specially after what I did."

All inside look at Reimu as she lowers her head again and starts to tremble as she says "I caused them so much pain, all because I refused to listen."

Mima sighs and whispers "here we go again"

To their surprise, Reimu lifts her head with a big smile and says "but I'm so glad to know they forgive me! And I'm so happy to know you all care about me like this."

She turns to Ayalina and says "thank you so much Ayalina! You're really--- eh?"

When they all turns to face Ayalina, who is supposedly to Reimu's right, they notice that she's gone, and in her place, a small patch of tulips and roses grow on the floor.

When Reimu realizes this, she touches one of the tulips, but when she does all the flowers turn into specs of light that fly away with the wind.

Marisa then says "you know, now that I think about it, I didn't see Yukari with her. How did she get in here!? without her help?"

All inside mumble between each other, all wondering the reasons and possibilities.

Reimu closes her eyes, sighs and says "any parent will do anything for their children, right?"

All inside stare at Reimu, looking very confused.

Reimu smiles at them as she turns around to face them all and says "never mind me. Come on, let's get things ready for when Ail and Sanae come back."

Mima shouts "hell yeah! Let's bring SAKE!"

Suika shouts "YOU ARE A GODDESS!!!" then rubs her cheek on Mima's knee, as she poses heroically, placing her foot on the table and pointing toward the ceiling with her finger.

Everybody else simply ignore them and go to Reimu, happily asking her of any welcoming ideas.

-

At the Moriya Shrine, Suwako sits under the large red gate, looking away from the shrine.

Kanako walks to her and sounding a bit annoyed she says "Suwako~! You were supposed to clean the dishes today! What are you still doing here!?"

As she gets closer, she realizes Suwako is sobbing and doesn't reply.

"Suwako? Are you crying?" asks Kanako, as she slowly gets closer.

Kanako's eyes fill with horror when she notices the communication orb she was using to keep in touch with Sanae and Ail is cracked on the floor, turning black and blowing away like ashes in the wind.

Suwako turns to Kanako, her eyes red and puffy from so much crying, her face full of tears, and still unable to speak properly.

Kanako looks on, feeling her chest getting tighter, her heart beating hard, sending pain with each beat.

She drops to her knees and spreads her arms.

Suwako quickly jumps to her, and Kanako immediately embraces her as she cries "Sa-Sanae~! She-she's gone! Kanako, she's go~ne!"

Kanako chokes back her tears and takes a big gulp.

With all her might and will, she manages to calmly say to Suwako "c-calm down. Suwako, remember, that orb would save her if her life was in danger. She's ok... the orb did it's job. She's ok."

Kanako brushes Suwako's hair with her hand, knocking off her hat as she did.

Suwako doesn't care and just keeps sobbing on Kanako's shoulder.

Kanako looks at the orb and thinks "if something's happened to Sanae, you are going to answer to me, Anilan!"

-

1 Hour Earlier

High on a cold and icy mountain, two climbers dressed in light clothes; Ail and Sanae.

Sanae has Ail's thick brown cape on, while Ail protects himself from the cold with a small, yet warm red and yellow scarf he got from his mother.

He picks up the tents they used while Sanae Writes in her diary.

-

Day XX/OO

Dear Diary,

It has been almost three weeks by now since we left Gensokyo.

I miss lady Yasaka and lady Moriya so much and hope that they are well.

Well anyway, you won't believe what this idiot, Ail, came and did just now!

First, you remember what happened a few days ago, right? Yeah.

He was acting so gloomy and wouldn't even listen to me. It was like I wasn't even here with him.

All was "when I find Budou this" or "when I find Budou" that. Then he'd get all depressed and... it just made me so mad.

And what was the deal with that stupid white mask?

I chewed him out and spit him back out that day, remember? I called him a... well it's not nice to repeat those things, is it?

Well, I kinda wish I hadn't said all that stuff to him after I did. He wouldn't speak to me at all... that is, until after breakfast today.

You want to know what he said to me? He said "Sanae, you are right. I've been acting very selfishly, I've been a complete jerk to you, and it's true that I forgot about your feelings about Budou too. Sanae, I am sorry. Please forgive me for being so selfish and rude."

Can you believe that, diary!? After all those things I called him, the IDIOT comes and APOLOGIZES to ME! It should have been the other way around! Now I feel like the bad guy... girl... here.

That's not all. After telling me all of this, he apologizes, yet again, that idiot.

He then takes off his mask and says "this is why I was hiding my face, Sanae. I didn't want you to see me like this."

He took off that mask, crushed it and threw it away, then he slowly turned to face me.

I was horrified. Claw-marks from his right eye trailing down to the left side of his face.

After he shows me this he says to me "please, don't worry too much about this. It hasn't even bled in days now."

How am I supposed NOT to worry after seeing that? And then he tells me that other thing so casually too; of COURSE I'm gonna worry! Idiot!

And I still don't know if I should apologize for calling him all those nasty things.

Oh well, it looks like it's time to move on. I'll see you later.

-

Sanae puts her diary away and places it inside a light-green waist bag, to the left of Suwako's orb, and as she zips the bag close, she stares at Ail.

He's just about done picking everything up when he says to her "Don't apologize. What you said to me was what I needed to hear... even if it was quite harsh."

Sanae continues to stare at him curiously, takes a deep breath, then rushes to him and strikes him with her gohei and angrily shouts "you were looking into my diary!? How could you!? That's very private!!"

Ail covers his head and says "ouch, ouch! No, Sanae, I swear. I just took a wild guess. Come on, give me a break here! OW~!"

While Sanae continues to punish Ail, a door opens up to their left, glowing red and feeling menacing.

Sanae stops striking Ail as both stare awestruck at the door.

Quickly, Ail gets up and says "come one, let's go!" then grabs Sanae's hand and both run toward the door.

As soon as they enter, the door closes behind them, leaving the picked up tents and a few supplies behind.

-

Meanwhile, Ail's crushed mask flies along with the wind, flying over the village at the foot of the mountain, then continuing it's flight above Ayalina's house, who smiles as the mask passes by and thinks "that son of mine can be strong when he wants to be."

The white mask continues it's travels, leaving all who see it in awe, some even feel inspired and uplifted after seeing this mask.

For one day and one night, it travels through the sky, until to bumps on Lily Black. "UGH! What the hell is this piece of crap!? A mask?"

She inspects it thoroughly and says "oh, it looks like it's been crushed. *Sniff sniff* wait... *sniff* that scent. *sniff*"

Lily Black's eyes glow with crimson fury when she recognizes the smell and says "that half human... Ail~!"

Shiki grabs Lily Black and takes the mask away, asking "what's this all about, little fairy?"

Lily black stutters and is unable to answer.

Shiki releases her and says "you better continue on your duties, or I'm sending you to clean the gutters in hell again!"

Lily Black panics, salutes Shiki, and without saying another word, she flies away toward a large stone.

Shiki inspects the mask, scoffs and says "I see. They made it inside. I wonder... What's gonna happen next, Anilan?"

-

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Ayalina were created by Willie G.R.

OCT 7 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**AN: So here I go again, eh? Another Sukima chapter. I love writing these so much, as well as other works too.** **I really hope you enjoy reading these.**

**Oh, on another note, I want to say that I am sorry I will not be able to fulfill the request to add certain characters. Amongst many reasons, I do not believe I can portray them in a satisfactory manner, and so, I have decided not to add them. As I've done so far, I'll follow my heart when writing these. Thank you for reading, and have a good day/night.**


	2. Chapter 1

Ail and Sanae enter through the red door, and as soon as they are inside, it closes right behind them, leaving their tents and some of their supplies behind.

Ail panics and shouts "oh no! The grapes! I forgot the grapes!!!"

He tries to go back, but behind him is a solid red mountain wall, instead of a door.

He sighs and says to himself "you stupid, stupid fool!"

Sanae sighs then walks away, looking around.

Ail notices she's irritated, however he can't figure out exactly why, then thinks "maybe... I've been so damn mopey lately. So many things have happened. Some harder to accept than others. No... if I keep looking back, I'll just end up in that same loop. I have to look forward."

With determination in his eyes, Ail clenches his fist, nods to himself and thinks "right. I must be strong. For myself and my friends... and Sanae. Yes, this is what miss Shou was talking about, I am sure."

Without him realizing it, the left side of the claw-marks on his face slowly vanish.

He goes toward Sanae and says "come on Sanae. Budou's around here somewhere. Let's go find her!"

He smiles at her as she looks at him a little puzzled.

She curiously looks into his eyes and notices resolve.

She smiles and says "y-yes! Yes, let go look for her!"

Looking around they realize they are in a very dark world.

The ground and the rocks are all red and looks as though they could burn them in seconds.

The sky is so dark, it's almost black, but some small poisonous looking clouds reveal a hint of blue up there.

The trees look dangerous. Their bark looks dark brown, their leaves black, and some ooze a strange red liquid that looks like blood, yet smells as sweet as honey.

Although the ground is so hot, the air is freezing cold.

Sanae wraps herself with Ail's cape, while Ail clenches his fist and uses his energy to heat up his body.

Ail closes his eyes and concentrates. It's easy since there is no sound of wind, even.

Sanae says "this place... it's like being in hell."

Ail says "yes... it's too quiet, and even those clouds look dangerous... and I think... yes! Sanae, she IS here! I can't pin-point her location, but I feel Budou's presence!"

Sanae smiles and says "well what are we waiting for, standing here? Let's go!"

Ail smiles and nods, then both walk together toward a gigantic red mountain, following a yellowish road that trails around it.

-

They feel as though they have walked for at least an hour by the time they reach the red mountains.

Sanae sits on a rock and says "Ail, wait. Let me rest for a moment. I feel so tired, I just want to rest a bit."

Ail looks at her curiously and asks "so the rock's not hot?"

Sanae realizes she's sitting on the red rock, pats it around and casually says "oh! Well no, it's not. In fact, it's surprisingly comfortable."

To their surprise, Suwako starts calling them through the communication orb.

Sanae immediately takes it out of her waist bag, looks at the orb with the green frog design in it's center and asks "what was that? Lady Moriya, I can barely understand what you're saying."

Under a lot of hissing and crackling sounds Sanae manages to understand when Suwako says "wait... ampli... sig..."

For a moment, the orb fell silent, then Suwako asks "how's that?"

Sanae replies "oh, I can hear you perfectly now."

Suwako chuckles and says "just wanted to know how are you. Did you find the place yet?"

Sanae smiles and says "yes, we're inside it right now. It's very strange. There's no wind, the sky is dark, and even the trees look dangerous."

Suwako replies "ahh, I see. Well please take care and come back home soon."

Before Sanae is able to reply, a powerful gust sends both Ail and Sanae flying in different directions, both yelping in surprise.

Suwako shouts "Sanae! SANAE!! What's going on!? Sanae, answer me!!"

Ail manages to get up and witnesses as an entire mountain falls on Sanae, silencing her deadly scream.

At that moment, Ail loses his mind and without realizing it, he rushes toward the massive mountain, shouting Sanae's name and pounding on it with his strongest blasts.

-

As Ail continues to assault on the mountain the remaining portion of the claw-marks on his face turn red, then revert back, then again red, and so on.

In his mind he shouts "no! This is all my FAULT! Sanae. SANAE! I killed her!!"

Images of Sanae fill his mind as he replies to himself "no, Ail. She alive, and you know it! Just keep breaking this thing. We'll blast it into pieces and rescue her!"

Again, he replies to himself in his mind "a whole mountain fell on her. How can she POSSIBLY be alive. You killed, her! You're a monster, Ail!"

Again, he replies to himself "no, Ail! Don't give in. Just blast this. Blast this thing to hell, if you have to. Get her OUT OF THERE!"

Ail screams loud and unleashes a blast so massive, it breaks a large portion of the mountain, however it's not enough, and he can't find Sanae's body anywhere.

He succumbs to exhaustion and grief and is just about to give up, when the mountain simply flies away.

Immediately, he rushes to the center where Sanae lies unharmed on the ground.

She looks pale, trembling on the ground, her hair frizzy, her arms an legs spread open.

She tries to speak as Ail rushes closer.

Ail looks at her energy flow and sighs with relief as he says "she's completely unharmed... Sanae."

Still trembling, Sanae is unable to get up and looks at Ail with a terrorized expression in her eyes.

Ail brushes her forehead with his fingertips and says "Sanae, it's me... Ail. You're alive and completely unharmed. Sanae? Can you hear me?"

Sanae continues to stare at him with terrified eyes, but stops trembling.

She quickly sits up and holds on to Ail, who is surprised at first, but then holds her back and says "it's ok... you're ok."

Sanae replies "so... dark... big... I couldn't move... I... I should be... dead."

As Ail pats her back comforting her, he notices the communication orb turning black, then turning to dust.

Ail says "Sanae... the orb."

Twisting her neck and torso a little, without letting go of Ail, she sees the orb's ashes on the ground.

Ail says "that Suwako... She protected your life with that orb."

Sanae gulps and says "lady M-Moriya is so thoughtful."

A realization hits her thoughts hard. She gasps, pushes Ail back and says "Ail, what if they think I'm dead!?"

Ail nods and says "y-yeah. I though about that too. But what can we do? We can't go back now."

Sanae looks around, hoping to find an answer, but that's when Ail says "Mima!"

Sanae looks at him curiously as he says "I can contact Mima, I'm sure! Give me a minute."

Ail closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Inside his mind, he calls for Mima.

-

In the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu, Marisa, Maribel, Renko, Aya and Mima are adorning the inside of the shrine with welcome banners and colorful string.

Outside, Suika sweeps some leaves away, but constantly takes sake-breaks, taking longer than necessary to finish the job.

Inside, Reimu, Maribel and Mima hold on to a long pink string.

Reimu ties the string at key points, making it into one arc after another.

Mima looks bored as she waits for Reimu to finish.

She closes her eyes and hears Ail's voice in her mind. "Mima... Mima, can you hear me?" asks Ail.

Mima quickly replies "Ail! What's the matter? Do you need my help? Do you want me to come get you!?"

Ail replies "no, it's alright Mima, we're alright. I need a favor from you."

Mima replies "go on..."

Ail says "a mountain fell on Sanae and destroyed the communication orb Suwako gave us. Don't worry, we are both fine. We just need you, or someone to tell the goddesses at the Moriya Shrine that Sanae is ok."

Mima sounds worried when she asks "Ail, are you sure that's all?"

Ail says "actually, we made it into this Makai, but this place is just horrible."

Mima asks "can I look into your mind?"

Ail says "go right ahead."

Mima can see what Ail sees at the moment. She looks at the ground, the sky, the trees, then says "wow, that looks like a real hell."

Reimu reaches Mima and says "Mima, if you're bored, you can-"

Mima shushes her and says "I'm speaking with Ail."

Reimu excitedly shouts "AIL!? Is he ok? Is Sanae ok!? Did they find Budou!?"

Mima says "not yet... but they made it into the other Makai... It's a horrible place, Reimu... wait... wait, what?"

Reimu excitedly asks "what is it!?"

Inside Mima's mind, Ail's voice is replaced by a rough, deep, yet calm and wise voice that says to her "you better tend to his request. It sounds important. Don't worry, your friends are just fine."

Mima screams, drops to the ground on her back, then crawls backward against a wall.

Reimu grabs Mima by her shoulders, shakes her and excitedly asks "what! Mima, what the hell is it!?"

Mima replies "big... very big... R-Reimu?"

Reimu's face turns as white as a ghost's skin when she asks "big? Mima, what is it?"

Mima relaxes and says "it's ok. They are fine. Ail asked me to tell the goddesses at the Moriya Shrine that Sanae is alive."

Reimu shouts "ALIVE!!? What do you mean!? Mima, what happened!?"

-

Back at the hellish Makai, Ail concentrates as he speaks with Mima.

Sanae keeps staring at him as he concentrates, and without realizing it, a large black plate quietly sets itself behind them.

Sanae feels something and turns around.

The moment she looks behind her she turns pale, her heart beats fast, and she trembles as she looks up.

She whimpers "A-A-Ail~!?"

Ail slightly opens his eyes, then starts trembling as much as Sanae.

He gulps as he looks up and notices the body of a large black dragon.

It's skin looks like a colossal plate of armor, smoothed out and looking powerful.

It's wings cover the sky from view, it's body is so massive, it makes the mountain that fell in Sanae look like a large ice-cream cone.

It opens it's red lizard-like eye, which is three times their own size, sitting right behind them, then, in a thunderous, deep, yet clam and wise tone of voice, he says "little humans? Here? Well I'll be. I haven't seen humans in such a long time."

Ail and Sanae hug each other, trembling in fear.

The dragon smiles and says "you don't have to worry about me, I'm not going to harm you. I'm sorry about that rock earlier. I am glad to see I didn't harm any of you."

Ail gulps and asks "s-s-s-so... y-you're... th-the one that... that pulled the mountain off Sanae?"

The dragon asks "mountain? Oh, that's right. To you, that small rock looks like a mountain. You have to forgive me. It's been so long since I've been near humans."

Ail gulps, nods and says "i-i-it's ok..."

The dragon stares at them for a moment, then asks "and may I ask, what are two humans such as yourselves doing in this place? Don't you know it's very dangerous for you? All the creatures here have a taste for human flesh."

Ail stands up while still holding on to Sanae and bravely says "that's right... We came here looking for a child youkai that was sent here by mistake. She should be encased inside a blue barrier."

The dragon grumbles lightly and says "I see. I saw this child just now. Shes over there, by that valley, but..."

Ail gasps and asks "what? What is it?"

The dragon closes his eye and says "I'm sorry, but she wasn't moving at all when I saw her."

Both Ail and Sanae gasp as they look at each other, then both look at the dragon.

He continues saying "don't lose hope, little humans. Go and find her... Go on! Don't worry. As long as my master doesn't feel your presence, I won't attack you. Now go, before he does. You may be small, but your spirits emanate great power. It's only a matter of time before he feels your presence."

Ail nods and says "thanks... My name is Ail, and this is Sanae. What's your name."

The dragon smiles as he lifts his massive head and says "call me Dai-Drecon. Now go, little humans. Before it's too late."

Ail looks at Sanae and says "piggy-back" Sanae nods, gets on Ail's back, then Ail starts running toward the valley where the dragon said Budou is.

Just as they pass by, both shout "Thank you!" to Dai-Drecon, making him smile once more.

-

Dai-Drecon closes his massive eye and concentrates.

In his mind he says "Shinki? Are you there?"

Shinki replies "Dai! How are you? What is it?"

Dai-Drecon replies "the two humans you told me about are here. You were right. They are very special, particularly that male. He's wise beyond his years. He was quite afraid of me and I would be too. He'd be a fool is he wasn't right..? Although, I feel confusion in him."

Shinki says "oh, I'm so glad they made it there safely. Yes, he's going though much right now. There's probably so much running through his mind right now."

Dai-Drekon replies "yes. I could sense this. That child youkai means a lot to them. To come all this way for her. Humans are such strange creatures."

Shinki chuckles and says "yes, they are. They really surprised me when they went searching for that place without a second though... Dai? Dai, what's the matter?"

A loud thunderous roar shakes the land, causing Dai-Drecon to gasp in horror.

He says to Shinki "no! My master has felt their presence!"

Shinki panics and says "can-can you help them!?"

Dai Drecon replies "you know I can't disobey my master. I can stall, but not for long. I'm sorry Shinki. I must go now."

Shinki sits on the main chair at the dinner table as she speaks with Dai-Drecon.

Yuki, Yumeko and Luize are present at the moment and watch as Shinki's face turns pale.

Yumeko asks "lady Shinki, what is it!?"

Shinki gulps and says "my-my contact found Ail and Sanae... he says they are ok, but..."

Yuki asks "but~?"

Shinki looks at all present in their eyes and says "the master of that horrible land found them..."

All in the room feel horror, turning the atmosphere in the room heavy.

Luize lets out a tear from her left eye and asks "so... he got them?"

Shinki says "no... he just found them out... Oh, I hope they can get out in time!"

-

Ail rushes as fast as he can run with Sanae on his back, reaching the valley, feeling quite winded.

As soon as Sanae gets off his back, the thunderous roar gets their attention, making them lose their balance as the ground under them shakes.

Ail exclaims "I think we've been found out... HURRY, we have to find Budou!"

Sanae replies "LOOK! Over there!"

They find the blue ice-shaped barrier, but to their surprise, it's empty, it's top cut open.

Ail kneels down and touches the barrier. Sanae continues to look around, desperately, hoping to see Budou around somewhere.

Ail closes his eyes and continues to touch the barrier. The blue barrier gets inside him.

He opens his eyes and says "Sanae, down there!"

Without thinking, or giving Sanae the chance to reply, he carries her, then jumps down toward the valley.

Immediately reaching the bottom, a few feet away, under some dirt, lies Budou.

Her dress is a mess, her hair is dirty, her wings look tattered, but she breathes.

Ail and Sanae kneel right beside her, both calling out to her.

Ail gently lifts Budou's head and softly says "Budou... wake up. It's us. Wake up."

Sanae gently adds "Budou, it's your mama and papa."

Budou narrowly opens her eyes and smiles. She is weak, but manages to softly say "mama? Papa? You came... I knew you'd come."

Ail shushes her and as he takes a peach out of his pockets, he says "it's alright, we're here. We're gonna take you home now."

He gets the peach close to her mouth, but she can't bite down hard enough, so Ail takes a bite for her and gives her a small piece.

After she swallows, she looks at Sanae, then at Ail and says "thank you... There is nothing to eat here... I was so hungry."

Ail and Sanae smile at her, then Sanae says "let's get you home now."

Budou weakly flaps her wings and says "please... take Phredia with us. She will die here."

Sanae and Ail look around and under Budou's hair lies a tiny fairy without color on her.

Ail looks at the fairy and says "she... dying."

Budou starts to cry and says "no~! Papa, don't leave her here.. plea-..se~!"

Budou falls unconscious on Ail's arms, her entire body hanging limp on the air. Ail and Sanae both panic and call for her, but calm down after hearing her snore softly.

Ail looks at the weakened fairy and picks it up with one hand. The moment he does, the fairy's color returns to her.

She has long blond hair, pointy ears, blue eyes and wears a small red dress with a white ribbon on her neck. She's so small, she fits in Ail's hand.

She wakes up and looks around, then spots Budou on Ail's arm.

She clenches her teeth and strikes Ail on the head.

Sanae says "wait, wait little fairy! We're not going to hurt her. We came here to rescue her."

The fairy stares curiously at Sanae for a moment, then at Ail. She backs away and then nods. After she does, she opens Sanae's waist bag and gets inside.

Sanae shouts "HEY! Don't you DARE read my diary."

The fairy yawns and falls asleep, completely ignoring Sanae.

-

Another ground-shaking roar rattles the land as Sanae closes her waist bag, leaving it a little bit open for the fairy.

Ail, who is carrying the sleeping Budou, and Sanae fly to reach higher ground, and to their horror, countless demons, all in different shapes and sizes, rush toward them.

Even Dai-Drecon, flies with the group.

Sanae shouts "I though he said he wouldn't hurt us!"

Ail looks on at the colossal dragon and says "remember, he has a master. He has to obey."

Sanae asks "what do we do now?"

Ail says "RUN!"

Ail hands Budou to Sanae, carries Sanae, then hovers just above the ground, then starts flying away as fast as he can.

He hovers around the valley, hoping to see an exit somewhere, but all he finds is a colossal hove stomping furiously, and roaring as he gets closer.

Ail stops and heads back inside the valley, hoping to gain some time by hiding.

He looks everywhere, but sees no way out, as even more demons come to them from all directions now.

Their footsteps sound like loud thunder, causing small tremors as they get closer to the humans.

Ail and Sanae stop, sit on the ground and look at each other, then back to Budou.

Ail says "well... this is it."

Sanae nods and says "a-at least... we found her, didn't we."

Ail brushes Budou's head and smiles while saying "yes... we did."

Ail tries to open a gap, but immediately realizes it's a bad idea, seeing large black tentacles coming from inside, and closes it.

Sanae looks at him and says "I knew something like that would happen."

Ail chuckles and says "I won't say I'm sorry, Sanae, but I do wish, I could save you two somehow."

Sanae grabs his hand, says "it's three" then smiles.

They get closer, and closer to each other, and just as they are about to kiss, a large blue anchor lands hard on the ground next to them.

Above, a large ship hovers in the skies. Sanae gasps and says "that's the Palanquin... Murasa's ship!"

From the flying ship, a girl shouts "GRAB ON, YOU TWO!"

Without wasting a second, Ail and Sanae grab on to the anchor, each with one arm, as each hold Budou together with their other arm.

As they fly up on the anchor, they see the master of the land. A gigantic monster with large black horns on his head. He roars in a rage as the humans escape.

Immediately after reaching the deck, Sanae leads Ail inside the ship.

As soon as they enter, a girl with short gray hair, ears of a mouse, red eyes, wearing a brownish-black one-piece dress with pink sleeves and a gray capelet, and a crystal pendant necklace, gets on top of the deck and faces the largest demon.

She shouts "I'll miss you~!" as a mouse in a basket that hangs on her tail jumps straight toward the demon and unleashes a beam of light that blinds the monster, saving the ship and all aboard it in exchange for it's own life.

The girl cries and whispers "thank you" as she heads back inside the ship, through the door Ail and Sanae used.

-

Meanwhile Reimu and Mima arrive at the Moriya Shrine and find there is a lightning storm swirling right on top of the shrine.

The trees around it look decayed, and now, heavy winds accompany the thunder and lightning.

The thunder and winds are so loud, Reimu has to shout in order to be heard. "Mima! This can get real ugly. If they attack, don't hold back!"

Mima shouts back "sure thing! I think this may be a bad time to tell you this, but I ate the last of the manju this morning."

Reimu looks angrily at Mima and shouts "WHAT!? Argh, Mima~! I was saving that!"

Suwako and Kanako burst out of the door and look menacingly at Reimu and Mima, who immediately hides behind Reimu while trembling.

Suwako moans and is unable to speak, however, Kanako manages to ask "what... you... want!?"

Reimu thinks "they've regressed this much in such short time. This is dangerous."

She takes a deep breath and shouts "Kanako, Suwako! Ail contacted Mima through telepathy. He says he and Sanae are fine!"

Kanako opens her eyes wide and asks "w-what? Sanae's alive?"

For a moment, the storm above the shrine clams a bit, but then Kanako shouts angrily "you're not trying to trick me, are you!?" causing the storm to turn into a hurricane.

Reimu covers her eyes with her forearm to protect herself from the heavy winds, while Mima uses her body to shield some of the wind from Reimu.

Reimu shouts back "calm down, Kanako! Ail and Mima have a psychic connection. They spoke earlier. Ail said the orb protected Sanae's life, that she is alive and well!"

Both Kanako and Suwako immediately recover their sanity, the trees recover their full life, the storm dies out, and Suwako speaks clearly.

She asks "S-Sanae? She's alive?"

Mima stands beside Reimu and nods while facing Suwako.

Suwako turns to Kanako, smiles, gasps and shouts "SANAE'S ALIVE!!! Kanako, Sanae is ALIVE!"

Kanako grabs Suwako and gives her a hug as she jumps on her and smiles as she says "yeah, yeah I heard you, you silly toad!"

Reimu takes a breath of relief, then head-locks Mima and says "now you have to get more manju for me, you hog!"

Suwako and Kanako stare as Mima says "aww~ come on, I was hungry~!"

Suwako says "such children."

Kanako nods and says "so immature."

-

Back at the Palanquin, Ail and Sanae find the living quarters after walking by many fairies that quietly stared at them while floating around.

They place Budou on one of the beds after entering a room.

Sanae places the fairy beside her and both sleep contently now.

Ail looks at Sanae and asks her "so who is Murasa?"

From the door the same voice as before says "that's CAPTAIN, Murasa. Captain Minamitsu Murasa at your service!"

Both Sanae and Ail turn around and see a girl with short black hair, teal eyes, wearing a teal and white sailor suit, carrying a purification ladle (Hishaku) and wears a white captain's hat.

Ail quickly bows his head and says "I'm sorry, captain. Thank you so much for rescuing us. We were goners down there."

Minamitsu gets closer to Ail and scans his face.

She brushes her fingers through Shou's claw-marks and says "HAH! Shou was right, you really are smart! Her mark is almost gone, which means, you seem to have learned your lesson, am I right?"

At first, Ail is lost for words, but then says "y-yeah... It took some time... but I think I understand what she meant last time. Wait... how do you know about-?"

Minamitsu looks at him, then curiously at Sanae and asks "you haven't told him about us..? I'm so disappointed in you!"

Sanae looks away and says "i-it never crossed my mind, so I'm sorry, geez!"

Minamitsu sighs then says "well, it's ok. We should be getting back home soon anyway, so please rest a while."

Ail asks "wait! I want to know how did you find us? Who sent you? And when you say home, you mean Gensokyo?"

Minamitsu chuckles and says "alright, alright, settle down. First of all, let me present you to Nazrin."

The mouse girl enters the room, still sniffling, sad about the loss of her friend.

Minamitsu says "come on, Naz. He wouldn't want to see you this way. Be proud of his bravery."

Nazrin smiles and says "I'll still miss him."

Minamitsu hugs her and pats her back while saying "time heals all wounds."

Ail bows to Nazrin, but says nothing after noticing she's glaring back to him.

Minamitsu lets go of Nazrin and says "well, be at ease and rest. It was lady Hijiri that sent for you."

Ail asks "Byakuren sent for us?"

Minamitsu strikes Ail's head with her ladle and says "that's LADY Hijiri. Geez, they told me you had manners!"

Ail crouches as he rubs his head. Sanae gets closer and crouches with him, looks at the bump, gets back up and angrily shouts "HEY, don't be so mean, or I'll exterminate you again!"

Minamitsu gulps and pulls Nazrin in front of her.

Ail gets up and says "it's ok, Sanae. Anyway, lady Hijiri sent for us?"

Minamitsu smiles again and says "yes. We are to take you safely back to Gensokyo, so please, just rest. You've had a long journey, and the trip back home may be a little long."

Ail looks at Minamitsu and asks "why is that?"

Minamitsu smiles as she says "well, we just went in and out of that Makai, so we've run out of power~!"

Ail and Sanae both look nervous. Sanae says "you're taking this quite calmly."

Minamitsu says "that's because we're currently crashing against a large icy mountain."

With that, the entire ship rattles violently. Ail and Sanae manage to hold Budou and Phredia on the bed while vibrations continued.

After the rattling stops, Minamitsu continues to stand smiling and says "ah well. Come on Naz. Let's get this ship running again."

Ail and Sanae look at each other in disbelief as they get up from the floor, but decide to rest, and LATER, deal with the captain.

Ail leaves the room and says "I'll go to the next room, so if you need anything, just call."

Sanae nods, quickly rushes to him, hugs him, then stares at him while smiling.

From their left, Minamitsu says "aww~! Look at the happy couple! Can we watch?"

-

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Budou were created by Willie G.R.

Some assistance by snapshot2010

OCT 8 2009

written by

Willie G.R.


	3. Chapter 2

Momiji sits in meditation close to the waterfall that leads to the tengu's mountain.

With her legs crossed under her skirt, her eyes closed and her mind drifting into old memories, she immediately opens her eyes when she senses a presence.

A human silhouette stands a few feet away, staring at her.

While she continues to stare at her opponent, she stands up and unsheathes her sword.

In her mind, she speaks to herself.

"My name is Momiji Inubashiri. I live in the Tengu Mountain, which is hidden from others, as it should be. Due to a failure to my part, I am now a subordinate to the loner, yet quite friendly crow tengu, Aya Shameimaru."

Momiji remembers images of her battle against Reimu and how easily Reimu took her out using a bomb spell. A Simple spell that even Momiji herself lacks.

She continues thinking "recently, I took an apprentice of my own called Kaizo Yumeda, who prefers to be called 'Kyo', and for some reason hates it when someone calls him by his full name. The reason he became my apprentice? The apprentice of such a weak tengu like me? I defeated him before, even after he boasted about beating an oni."

Momiji remembers her battle against Kyo and how she used her shield as a weapon to easily defeat him.

Then she remembers helping him train as she continues thinking "I trained him, taught him humility and respect to others, as any self-respected swordsman or woman should. I didn't really teach him much about swordplay or techniques, but about reading your opponent, measuring his or her strength and to respect his opponent, even if he or she is weaker than himself."

Momiji finishes remembering and continues to face her opponent.

While she does, she thinks "just like that, roughly one month after we were done training, he is able to use a spell card. How is that possible!? I trained myself for years, I've endured HELL and more."

Momiji remembers herself training under very rough weather, be it cold, heat, rain or snow. She remembers training to the point of physical exhaustion, and quickly returning to her training after undergoing painful recovery.

She continues thinking "even after all that training I still lack the strength needed to use a spell card. Am I really this weak? Am I just aiming for a goal I can never reach? And why, if I trained that human, is he able to attain a spell card so easily!? What do I lack that HE has. And that is why I have summoned him here today."

Momiji looks on as Kyo stares at her and asks "are we going to do this?"

Momiji nods and says "please, do not hold back. If you feel the need to use that spell card of yours, then please do."

Kyo shrugs and calmly says "alright then. Any deals?"

Momiji shakes her head lightly and says "no. I just want to see your strength and measure my own. Now come at me!"

As Momiji and Kyo clash swords, she thinks "today I will learn something. Depending on that knowledge I attain here today, I will or will not continue to live here with the other tengu. I am Momiji Inubashiri, and I am proud to be a tengu."

-

A few hours earlier, Kyo and Luna embrace each other while in front of their house, looking into each others eyes.

Luna says "well, we best be off. Don't wanna be late, do we?"

Kyo smiles and replies "I wish I could come watch... but this request from Momiji seems very important."

Luna smiles back and says "don't worry. Besides, this is something we have to do on our own. Call it a sort of 'code'."

They let go of each other and head toward different directions, but before getting too far away from each other, both turn their necks around and while looking at each other through the corner of their eyes, at the same time they say "come back in one piece."

Afterward, both smile, then continue their way.

-

Luna, who is currently wearing her usual dark-blue dress, the brown belt with her two small gun-blades, her black hair-clips, and her red tengu slippers, calmly walks toward the Forest of Magic, thinking of her time with Aya, thinking "heh... for some reason, I am reminded of those long days with that crazy tengu. At first I though she was a pervert and just a thorn in my side, but now..."

Luna remembers being inside a house with small windows high above the ground that prevented her from seeing outside. She also remembers hearing a rumbling sound of water falling hard, however, the sound was quite distant.

She remembers Aya saying to her "if you'd like to know, we've been here for 3 weeks now. Kyo tried to infiltrate the tengu's mountain... he misses you a lot; isn't that sweet?"

Luna looks back with fury at Aya who replies "more rage? Don't you like him? He seems to like you a lot."

Luna replies "he is JUST a guy! He can take care of himself. The only reason I'm with him is because he defeated me! Once I kill him, that will all be over."

Aya smiles mischievously and says "o-ho ho~ I see. So he's just a toy to you."

Luna's rage escalates and she tries to tackle Aya, who side-steps at the last moment, then pushes Luna toward the floor.

She waves her finger and says "tsk, tsk. Apprentices must ALWAYS respect their masters."

Luna clenches her teeth hard while on the floor, shedding tears of rage, unable to get that tengu, who keeps taunting her so.

Luna stops remembering and stands next to the entrance of the forest and says "I know you're there... Shameimaru."

Aya says "I see you're as perceptive as ever." as she jumps from one of the trees and lands next to Luna, smiling and accepting Luna's greeting hug.

-

As Luna and Aya continue walking deeper into the forest, they talk about their time together.

Aya rests her head on her arms as she links her hands right behind her head.

She smiles and says "remember the second month? You know, I still can't believe what you told me that day."

Luna blushes a little and says "y-you promised you wouldn't tell-"

Aya immediately says "I gave you my word. Beside, something like that isn't really news."

Luna smiles and remembers panting while on the floor of that house, exhausted after attempting to fly using Aya's own method.

Aya smiles at her and says "that's enough for today. I must say, you sure have changed... but you are still ways to go."

Luna sits on her knees and taking a deep breath, she says "it's all been thanks to your guidance, miss Aya."

Aya smiles and says "don't go thanking me yet. Now, there's something I want to ask you. I want to know... why did you kill so many? Why did you turn into such a person in the first place?"

Luna chokes at the question. Aya looks worried and prepares herself for any sudden attacks.

Luna sheds a few tears, closes her eyes an says "it's because..."

Aya quietly waits for Luna's answer, still keeping an eye for any sudden movements.

Luna sheds more tears as she says "because I wanted revenge!"

Aya casually asks "revenge?"

Luna nods and says "I will not tell you my real name, please respect this, but before, I had another name... the name my parents gave me. I changed my name when I was 17 years old... after my parents were brutally murdered right before my eyes, by a gang of cowardly thugs."

Aya opens her eyes widely and notices fury and pain in Luna's eyes, then says "if you wish to stop-"

Luna quickly continues "they were planning on using me, then kill me. They taunted me, using my own parent's blood for their own sport! I was furious... I wanted noting more than to kill them all. That's when..."

Aya stands back, but Luna continues to kneel, even though she furiously punches on the ground.

Luna then continues "the cage they had me in was against an old wall, and inside a hole in that wall, I found those gun-blades. They even had some bullets in them, so without hesitation, I shot the lock and one-by-one I killed them all. I used up all the bullets by the time I reached their cowardly leader, who begged for mercy, just like my parents did. I smiled and felt satisfaction of this irony."

Aya asks "so you killed him?"

Luna smiles and says "I cut off his arms, then his legs... I had my fun with him, making him scream in agony..."

Luna starts to cry and says "and then, I finally granted his wish and killed him."

Aya worriedly gets closer to Luna, who can't control her tears and cautiously placer her arm around her.

Immediately, Luna grabs Aya and hugs her while crying on her shoulder.

Aya then asks "but how can someone so young have killed so many?"

After crying for some time, Luna finally calms down, wipes her tears and then says "please, miss Aya, don't tell this to anyone. Specially not Kyo, please... PLEASE PROMISE!"

Aya nods as she looks worriedly at Luna.

Luna gets up and steps at least 5 feet away from Aya and says "I am ---- years old."

A loud wind gust mutes the sound from outside, making sure nobody else hears Luna's confession.

Aya's eyes show a mixture of shock and surprise, then asks "but... wait a minute. Are you human?"

Luna looks at her hands and says "I have died many times, miss Aya, and by all rights I should be in hell... but here I am. I don't know WHAT I am... all I know is, for whatever reason, I have been sent back every time I have died. All 37 times."

-

Luna stops remembering and realizes she's at the clearing in the forest she wanted to be in.

Aya asks "are you sure you want to go through with this?"

Luna nods and says "of course. It's the only way those like us can end such foolish rivalries."

Aya asks "well, are you sure you can control yourself? Remember, if you can't control yourself, I won't be able to help you."

Luna chuckles and says "miss Aya, after our time together, all I learned from you, all that's happened, I believe those days are far behind me."

Aya tries to hide her worry with a smile, but her eyes reveal too much worry in her as she says "alright then... please take care... and don't do anything stupid... please."

Luna smiles and flips her thumb up. Aya's worry seems to vanish after looking into Luna's eyes, then flips her thumb up, nods, then flies away.

Luna looks around and says "wow... she's late. Never expected her to be late."

In an instant, from behind her comes an elegant voice that says "sorry about that. The mistress went to bed late today, but here I am."

Luna turns around, startled, but immediately smiles after seeing it's Sakuya, who elegantly bows her body a little while placing her right hand on her chest.

Luna continues to smile and asks "well, that's alright. Ready to get this out of the way?"

Sakuya smiles and says "I already told you..." she takes three knives in her hand and continues "...the sooner we finish this, the sooner we can see each other eye-to-eye."

Luna smiles and unsheathes her right blade and says "well, since I'm the one who asked you to come, I'll let you have the first move."

Both girls stance, ready to strike at any time as Sakuya replies "that's really nice of you. Now remember, I won't hold back, so come to me with all you got."

-

Back with Kyo, he's walking by Byakuren's temple, when he is called by someone from the temple itself.

"Oy~! Big brother~!"

Kyo stops in his tracks as he slowly turns around while looking slightly annoyed.

A girl with light-purple wavy hair, dark purple eyes, carrying a golden medium-sized ring on her right hand, wearing a white dress with a blue trim at the bottom and a headdress that makes her look like a nun and simple black shoes comes running to him, then stops just before crashing on him.

She smiles and asks "where are you going with that ugly face today?"

Kyo clenches his teeth, faking a disfigured smile tying to hide his annoyance and saying "that's... none of your business now, is it, Ichirin Kumoi!?"

Ichirin looks at him disappointed and says "aww you don't have to get so mad. I'm just curious."

Kyo sighs and asks "and where is Unzan? He's usually hanging around you all the time."

Ichirin giggles and says "come on big brother, are you sill asleep or something? You know this is his private time."

High above them, a reddish-pink cloud with an old man's face with a beard flies around, getting closer to other smaller white clouds that seem to punch him away after some time.

Back on the ground, Kyo shakes with anger as he asks "why do you keep calling me that?"

Ichirin looks at him neutrally and asks "what? You mean 'big brother'? Well, you beat me in that battle, which I STILL believe you cheated, and it annoys you, so it makes me quite happy."

Kyo's left eye twitches as he smiles dangerously and says "oh, that's great to know."

Kyo clenches his fist while still smiling dangerously, so Ichirin waves her hands nervously as she says "now, now, calm down."

Ichirin calms down and looks seriously at Kyo and asks "but really, where are you going?"

Kyo sighs, calms down and says "I was summoned by my friend, Momiji. I don't like this, but it seems she wants us to have a match... I don't really want to, but I can't deny a request form her."

Ichirin opens her eyes wide and says "ooh, a fight. Can I come?"

Kyo looks at her in disbelief, but then sighs and shrugs and says "why do you even ask? You'll just do whatever you want anyway."

Ichirin pouts and says "geez, you're just like Unzan. Ah, but I guess that's why I like you both so much. So, let's go big brother!"

As Kyo and Ichirin walk toward their destination, Kyo slouches and says "please, stop calling me that."

-

Arriving near the tengu mountain, Kyo spots Momiji meditating on the the ground, but she quickly gets up as soon as he arrives.

He looks at her and asks "are we going to do this?"

Momiji nods and says "please, do not hold back. If you feel the need to use that spell card of yours, then please do."

Kyo shrugs and calmly says "alright then. Any deals?"

Momiji shakes her head lightly and says "no. I just want to see your strength and measure my own. Now come at me!"

Kyo closes his eyes for a moment, and just as he opens his eyes, he unleashes both shield and sword, and immediately blocks Momiji's direct attack, both swords clashing fiercely.

Kyo looks into Momiji's eyes and sees her determination and will to prove herself.

Both push hard against each other, then swing their swords, matching each other and blocking attacks.

Momiji backs away and spins as she raises her blade and heads toward Kyo.

She swings the blade downward, hoping to catch Kyo off-guard, but he manages to swing his sword in an arc toward hers, blocking the attack, then he counters by pushing back her sword and tries to swing toward her waist, but Momiji uses the momentum of the push to spin in place and position her shield to protect herself.

Both battlers back away from each other and stare.

Ichirin, who is sitting on a near-by tree shouts "got big brother, you can do it!!"

To her left, Hina sits next to her and says "oh my, how exciting."

Just under them, Nitori sits on a metallic chair that extends to the height of the tree branch, quickly offering some cucumbers to Hina and Ichirin.

Both accept the offer, then Ichirin continues to cheer, then says "this is very exciting!"

Kyo and Momiji rush toward each other, both raising their weapons above their heads and furiously trying to strike one-another, but both blades clash above them, sending some sparks to the ground.

Again, both back away, then almost immediately rush at each other.

When in range, both of them thrust their swords so fast, the blades look like a couple of blurs, however both battlers continue to fight, matching each others moves like it's nothing to them.

Kyo thinks "she's leaving herself open, but why?"

Momiji thinks "he's been matching my every move like it was nothing to him. I better turn things up."

Both battlers back away again, but this time, Momiji raises her shield and uses it to generate knots of danmaku in all sizes possible.

Kyo seems overwhelmed by the heavy amount of danmaku headed his way, however, he takes a deep breath and concentrates, then moves with grace around the bullets, avoiding some, blocking others with his shield and cutting the last of the wave with his sword and turning them into his own, then pushes them back to Momiji, who stops firing danmaku just as the returned bullets reach her.

Unable to block, Momiji jumps high into the air, and using her strength, she falls toward Kyo, holding her sword right in front of her.

Kyo jumps back just as Momiji strikes the ground right under him, making a crater at the point of impact.

Ichirin and Hina open their eyes wide, admiring the battler's power.

Nitori munches on her cucumber and says "they are even."

Both Ichirin and Hina look at Nitori curiously, but shrug and continue to watch the battle.

-

Both battlers back away from each other, then, while staring at each other, Momiji shouts "I told you not to hold back! And use that spell card! I'm not afraid of it!"

Kyo stares back at her and says "Momiji, what's the matter? You sword tells me something... as if you've lost all faith in yourself, or something."

Momiji can't believe what Kyo's just said.

A tear escapes her left eye as she clenches her teeth and thinks "dammit... he's sensed that already?" but shouts "tha-that's not true! I have the outmost faith in myself! Now come at me with all you've GOT!"

Kyo sighs and thinks "I'll end this quick... I'll use that spell card."

For some time, either one does nothing, so Momiji angrily shouts "if you're not taking this seriously, then I'll have to-!"

Momiji stops shouting the moment she notices Kyo concentrating energy into himself.

Slowly, his power rises, the amplifier around his waist glowing red. On his left hand, he holds a spell card.

Momiji smiles in an almost wicked way when she notices this and thinks "finally. I get to prove myself. I'll BEAT his spell card!"

Kyo opens his eyes and shouts "Gales of the Bouncing Orb!!"

Momiji opens her eyes wide and shouts "WHAT!? ANOTHER!?"

The spectators at the tree present themselves to each other, complementing each other on their dresses and their jobs, but quickly turn their attention back to the battle after Momiji shouts.

Nitori sweats a little and says "I see. She wasn't expecting that... oh?"

Above them, at the Moriya Shrine, a storm begins to swirl just above the shrine itself, and the plants up there start to look sickly.

Hina says "oh my... that's a powerful curse... I wonder what's going on up there?"

As if not noticing at all, Momiji prepares to take on Kyo's second spell card.

She clenches her teeth as she watches Kyo raise his shield, which turns white and glows bright.

Kyo launches his shield toward her with great strength, so Momiji prepares herself and dodges it at the last second.

She thinks "that was way too simple... wait, what's...?"

Momiji realizes that the shield is moving around, bouncing off at certain points and heading to another direction.

She quickly realizes the shield has generated a heptagon, and she is trapped inside it.

Soon after, five small tornadoes form inside the heptagon, all shooting small white orbs that scatter randomly.

Momiji has a hard time dodging both the small orbs and the tornadoes, but manages to do so, jumping, twirling and spinning as she quickly moves around, being careful not to let the orbs or tornadoes touch her.

She smiles as she gets close to Kyo and thinks "this is it! I'll finish this in one sweep!"

She concentrates on Kyo and forgets the tornado to her left and by the time she notices it, she has it and it's barrage of orbs upon her.

She screams in agony as the wind in the tornado feel like blades to her, and the danmaku orbs continue to explode on contact.

Hina gasps in horror, covering her mouth and saying "oh, poor girl. That has to hurt so much."

Ichirin says "wow, I've never seen big brother using that spell card before... Ooh, looks painful."

-

Finally, the attack stops and Momiji falls hard on her face, down to the ground below.

Kyo panics and shouts "Momiji! Dammit, did I overdo it!? Momiji, get up!"

He calms down the moment Momiji struggles to get back up and says to her "ah, you're alright. Look, let's-"

Using her will power, she shouts "don't you... DARE... Kaizo Yumeda! I... I'm... not... done!"

Kyo, who is really worried, asks "but... aren't you hurt? ...Momiji?"

Momiji thinks "so this is it... this is the extent of my strength? No, it's not strength... it's heart. I see... I understand now. I've been training my strength and power, but never my own heart... that's... In the end, that is why I fail. That is why I can't use spell cards. My heart is weak."

Momiji finally gets up on her feet, but falls on her knees. Kyo keeps looking at her worriedly, but keeps his sword and shield ready.

To their surprise, Momiji lifts her head with a bright smile on her face, gets back up and happily says "I understand now... I understand why I fail! And it's all thank to you, Kyo... thank you."

Kyo stares at Momiji, feeling very confused as she continues to smile at him.

Momiji closes her eyes and says "alright, Kyo, one more round. Are you up to it?"

Kyo, still feeling confused, nods and says "er, sure, why not?"

Momiji smiles and arcs her sword arm until her sword is just above her head.

She closes her eyes as the tip of her sword starts glowing yellow and she continues to smile as she says "I finally understand."

Kyo looks with awe when he realizes the light on Momiji's sword is a spell card.

Hina and Nitori both clap their hands and excitedly shout "she did it" then Hina adds "she finally got her own spell card. *sniffle* I'm so proud of her."

Ichirin looks on and says "ooh~! So she didn't have a spell card before, huh?"

-

Momiji opens her eyes, looking quite refreshed and shouts "Howl - Distant Link"

Immediately after declaring her spell card, Momiji howls, her howl echoing all over the mountain.

Using her ability to see far away, Momiji prepares a massive amount of danmaku orbs and small bullets that once done accumulating, they slowly head toward the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Momiji uses her shield to unleash a barrage of medium white danmaku orbs in a circular pattern, keeping Kyo distracted, dodging the bullets in front, and not realizing he has bullets coming from behind.

Kyo shouts "hey, not bad for a spell card."

Momiji smiles proudly and says "you haven't seen anything yet."

When Kyo looks behind him, the huge barrage of bullets is already upon him.

As a last resort, Kyo expands his shield and tries to block the bullets from behind, while dodging the ones in front, however, the frontal ones bounce against his shield back to him.

With just seconds to spare, Kyo retracts his shield and sends it straight at Momiji, who wasn't expecting that and got blasted at the same time as Kyo gets blasted by the heavy barrage of danmaku.

All three spectators put on some sunglasses and "ooh~!" as they watch the many explosions set off.

Ichirin says "oh my. I think big brother's gonna be sore for a while."

Hina smiles and removes her sunglasses as she says "come on, let's see who won."

Ichirin and Hina quickly jump off the tree while Nitori's chair malfunctions and sends her flying and screaming toward the battlefield.

After arriving there, Hina helps Nitori up and all three spectators stare at the fallen battlers.

Momiji struggles to get back up, manages to hold herself up with her arms, smiles and asks "was it... good?"

Nitori smiles with narrow eyes, flips her thumb up and says "it's was really good."

Momiji smiles and says "good..." then lets herself fall on to the ground next to Kyo, who is completely out cold with swirling eyes.

Hina stares at the scene for a moment, chuckles and happily says "so unfortunate, isn't it?"

Ichirin and Nitori look at each other and quietly shrug.

-

Back at the Forest of Magic, while Kyo and Momiji begin their fight at the Youkai Forest, Luna and Sakuya stare at each other, when Sakuya disappears and appears next to Luna, who reacts immediately and swings her blade, blocking Sakuya's direct knife attack.

Both jump away just in time, then Luna takes advantage and uses her flight to push herself while in the air, lands on a tree branch and use it to bounce back toward Sakuya with force.

Sakuya is caught off guard, but manages to grab Luna's blade by it's broad side by clapping her hands, then struggles for a moment, and finally manages to push Luna back.

Luna lands on her feet, smiles, then says "not bad. You still got some moves."

Sakuya smiles back, scoffs and says "maybe it's because I am still younger than you... Katalina."

Sakuya smiles wickedly after saying this and waits for Luna's reaction.

Luna frowns, closes her eyes, and as if holding herself back, she trembles as she says "p-please... don't call me that. My name is Luna. Luna Rivers."

Sakuya looks at her impressed and says "wow... you really have changed after all. If I had called you that before, you'd be trying to throttle me."

Luna smiles and says "thanks... Yes, I have changed quite a lot."

Sakuya chuckles and says "well, just don't go soft on me now."

Luna smiles back, stances with her sword close to her right cheek, and says "oh, don't you worry about that."

Luna and Sakuya rush toward each other and clash their weapons, Luna using only one of her gun-blades, while Sakuya holds three knives in each hand.

While clashing weapons, Sakuya asks "why... did you... choose an... american... name?"

Luna replies "surprised... that you... noticed."

The girls back away again and Luna smiles and says "I just wanted to get as far away from my former past as possible. Let's leave it at that."

Sakuya looks at Luna with a neutral face, nods, then jumps back a little farther away from Luna, then says "alright then. I suggest we stop fooling around now and get serious. I would like to finish here soon."

Luna slowly unsheathes her second gun-blade and says "agreed. No more holding back, then."

-

Sakuya elegantly crosses her arms across her chest and almost immediately, groups of 6 knives, 3 on each side, fly non-stop from Sakuya, spin in the air, then quickly head toward Luna, their sharp tips pointing straight at her.

Luna twirls and swings her swords with such grace and skill that not one knife reaches her.

Sakuya disappears as soon as the knives stop flying.

Luna looks around, and is only able to see flashes around her.

Sakuya has stopped time around her, yet Luna is able to keep up. Sakuya notices this and thinks "this can't be. Is she able to see me? Is she not affected by the Luna Dial?"

As Luna continues to follow Sakuya's blur, she is quickly distracted by the many knives popping up out of thin air, all headed her way.

She deflects all the knives with her own swords, but misses two of them, both stabbing her on her calf.

She yelps in pain and falls, kneeling on the ground.

Sakuya stands right where she was before, looking neutrally at Luna, and asks "is that all you have to give? And I thought this would take at least 10 minutes. How disappointing."

Luna keeps her face hidden as she smiles and says "you should know better than to lower your defenses so quickly."

Luna stands up and runs around Sakuya, unleashing a heavy barrage of blue knife danmaku all around her.

Sakuya sees a blind spot in Luna's attack and tries to take advantage of it, but Luna is already waiting for Sakuya at the end of that large gap between the danmaku, and slashes her arm.

Although the cut isn't deep, some blood spills from Sakuya's arm, the short sleeve over he shoulder sliced open.

Sakuya yelps and holds her arm in pain.

Luna backs away as her danmaku strikes Sakuya.

When the dust clears, Luna notices Sakuya manages to block a few of the bullets, and is kneeling at the center of the attack.

Sakuya stands up, still holding her left arm, and says "n-not bad. I guess I'm getting sloppy."

Sakuya pulls out a spell card and says "I'm sorry for underestimating you like that. It won't happen again."

Luna looks neutrally at Sakuya and says "apology accepted. Just don't let it happen again. You, of all opponents I've faced, should know to never underestimate anyone."

Sakuya smiles and bows her head, then lets go of her arm and pulls a spell card from her apron and says "this should slow you down a bit."

-

Sakuya lifts her spell card above her head and shouts "Illusion Image - Luna Dial"

Sakuya stops time as she unleashes various blue blue danmaku shards around her in a straight line.

Luna already stances, ready to defend herself.

After Sakuya stops time, she unleashes countless daggers that point straight at Luna, then countless more that aim randomly around.

Luna is able to keep up while Sakuya prepares her attack, and as soon as Sakuya releases time, all the daggers and danmaku start moving rapidly.

She manages to easily dodge the daggers that are facing her, and the danmaku too, but some of the scattered daggers manage to break her defenses, lightly cutting her in various areas around her legs and arms.

Sakuya smiles as she prepares the attack once more.

Again, the straight-lined danmaku, followed by the aimed daggers, then followed by the scattered ones.

Luna manages to fire a large barrage of danmaku of her own, and manages to hit Sakuya, right where she reappears as soon as she releases time again.

Sakuya yelps in surprise as her attack launches toward Luna.

This time, Luna uses her blades to deflect the scattered daggers, just as she manages to avoid the aimed ones and the danmaku.

Sakuya angrily looks at Luna, then prepares her attack once more.

Luna smiles and turns both blades with their blunt side against her arms and smiles.

Sakuya re-appears once more, unleashing her attack, but Luna is already waiting for her, and starts spinning around, extending her arms and using her blades to deflect even the danmaku.

This catches Sakuya by surprise, and by the time she grabs some knives to defend herself, Luna strikes her on the back of her head with the hilt of her right blade.

Sakuya falls to the ground, holding the back of her head with both hands.

Luna looks at her neutrally and says "now, for the finisher."

-

Luna pulls a spell card from inside her dress' chest area, then says "Disturbance - Multicolored Death."

Sakuya gets up, still holding her head, and looks with shock and surprise as Luna declares her spell card.

Luna waves her arms in the form of a dance, creating the illusion of having 8 arms, then she dances and twirls around, unleashing so many multicolored knife danmaku, that Sakuya can't see her through the knives.

Flying in unison, in groups of 5, the knives home in on Sakuya, moving at the rhythm of time.

As Sakuya jumps and dodges as best as she can, Luna tries to strike her with her sword every 5 waves or so.

Exhausted, Sakuya desperately tries to hide behind a tree, but in doing so, she relaxes too much and allows the last 3 waves to catch her, exploding on contact.

Breathing heavily, lying on the ground behind the tree, Sakuya weakly says "I... I can't believe this."

Luna looks for her and sees she is fine.

She smiles, sheathes her swords and says "and so ends our rivalry, Sakuya Izayoi... what the-?"

Without realizing it, Sakuya had prepared a trap that activated as soon as Luna let down her guard, and quite a few knives come flying from the trees and bushes around them, striking Luna hard.

Luna runs around in circle after the last knife hits her on the butt.

As she runs around, she pulls off all the daggers, leaving the last one for last.

After pulling off that last dagger, a tear escapes her left eye as she angrily shouts "HEY, that's cheating! I beat you fair and square!"

Sakuya struggles to sit with her back against the tree to enjoy the show, then replies "you let your guard down a little too early... besides, I didn't want you thinking I'd gone soft on you or anything."

Luna pouts and says "I still won this match!"

Sakuya weakly chuckles while holding her ribs and says "yeah... you did." then smiles.

Both Luna and Sakuya stare at each other, then start chuckling lightly, progressing to a hearty laugh.

While laughing, Sakuya says "you should have seen the look on your face when those knives got you. It was priceless!"

Luna stops laughing and smiles as she says "well, it couldn't have been as great as YOUR face when you saw my spell card."

The girls stop laughing, then Luna gets up, extends her hand to Sakuya, helping her get up, then wraps her arm around her and says "come, I'll treat you to some tea and sweets."

Sakuya sighs and says "sure. Thanks."

Both think at the same time "and now, we can be friends."

-

Arriving to her home, Luna spots Ichirin and Unzan leaving her house.

She lets go of Sakuya, saying "please, head inside. Just need to ask something."

Sakuya nods and heads inside Luna's house, then Luna goes to Ichirin.

"Oy, Ichirin!"

Ichirin and Unzan turn their attention to Luna.

Ichirin smiles and says "Luna, how are ya? ... No, Unzan, that's NOT my style, dammit!"

Luna sweats a little as she asks "er... did he say...? Never mind. What happened to Kyo?"

Looking a little disappointed, Ichirin says "big brother got too cocky again and got completely owned."

She face Unzan and says "Unzan, I swear, you're worse than my nanny... Yes I HAD a nanny before... What do you mean 'liar'!?"

Luna gets a little annoyed and asks "is Kyo ok!?"

Ichirin stops arguing with Unzan and says "oh, yeah, big brother's fine. He just needs to rest a little. Unzan had to carry him all the way back, you know."

Luna giggles and says "I see. Then I guess I owe Unzan some thanks."

Unzan bows his head, then Ichirin says "he says 'no thanks needed'. I must say, that wolf girl really caught him by surprise. She got her first spell card as they battled. Big brother almost beat her too... but that's when he got all cocky and all that."

Luna looks toward the Youkai Mountain and says "you don't say? Heh, this is the second time Momiji beats Kyo. He's gonna be sore about it for some time."

Ichirin laughs hard and says "hey, that's what I said too!"

From inside the house, Medicine shouts "hey, Luna~! How did you make that tea again?"

Luna panics, quickly waves at Ichirin, and runs to her house saying "wait, Medi, no, let ME handle that... MEDI~!

-

At the Youkai Forest, Nitori and Hina had made a makeshift lifter, and are carrying Momiji on it, handing her to the tengu as soon as they come for her.

While happily resting on that lifter, Momiji thinks "today, I finally understood what I lacked for me to have a spell card, and finally, I managed to get one of my own. It wasn't power, strength... or anything of that sort after all, but doubt in my heart... in myself. I am so happy now. I want to thank Kyo for this. If it wasn't for him, I'd probably never have found out about the weakness of my heart. Heheh, he's probably gonna be sore for losing to me again... then again, maybe not."

The tengu place Momiji on a soft bed, place her shield and sword beside the bed, and as another tengu applies some medicines on her wounds, she thinks "I am so glad that I won't have to leave my tengu brethren... if I had to... I don't know what I would have done. I am Momiji Inubashiri, and I am proud to be a tengu."

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards, and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Kyo and Luna were created by Wilie G.R.

Spell cards "Gales of the Bouncing Orb", "Howl - Distant Link", and "Disturbance - Multicolored Death" were created by Willie G.R. with assistance by snapshot2010

OCT 15 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**Author's Notes :**

**Sorry it took so long to post this chapter. Amongst some ISP unpleasantries, I took some time to write some of my original characters' description, along with their spell cards, amongst the Makai character's spell cards. And here, I'll be adding the OC's descriptions at the end of the chapters.

* * *

**

Kyo (Kaizo Yumeda)  
Having gained some humility after his defeat, Kyo trains under Momiji, learning ways to use his sword and shield with a little more honor and respect for his opponent. Still using the power amplifier he won from Agava, he is able to use wind and fire elemental attacks, plus gains Spell Cards.

He has short spiky black hair, dark-brown eyes that seem to look angry (scowling) all the time, although this is not the case. He wears either a black, white or pink (Luna's request) muscle shirt, a red, red with palms, blue or white unbuttoned button shirt on top of that, long black or white karate-style pants tied up with the black-belted red amplifier (that looks like a red crystal sphere with a star design in it's center) and wooden sandals.


	4. Chapter 3

Ail wakes up, still inside the Palanquin. The ship still isn't moving, so he guesses they've been stuck there for at least one day by now.

He opens his eyes and realizes he's sleeping face-down, but before turning around, he stays there and admires the flower patterns on the tatami flooring.

He decides to turn around, and the moment he does, he realizes he's not wearing anything under the bed sheets.

He wonders when did that happen, then he realizes, Sanae is right next to him, covering herself up with the bed sheets.

For a few moments, Ail analyzes the situation, and the realization hits him as hard as a punch from Suika.

He and Sanae are under the same sheets of the same bed.

Ail face turns pale, his entire body following quickly.

Sanae wakes up and smiles tenderly, saying "darling, you're awake. Good morning"

From the door comes Captain Murasa, smiling and shouting "GOO~D MOR~NING everyone! Ohh, busy night, huh? Ah well, just wanted to tell you we MIGHT be stuck here for a little while longer. Now I'll stop interrupting here, so please continue as you were!"

Minamitsu closes the door, then Budou jumps from the other bed and shouts "YAY~! I get to have a little brother or sister, right!?"

Ail feels all kinds of feelings, mostly surprise and uncertainty.

Budou sits in front of Sanae, while Sanae tells her "yeah. maybe you might get TWO little brothers or sisters."

Ail's face turns purple and finally shouts "WHA~~T? Wait, when did we-? How did you-? What's going on here!?"

The scene completely changes, and now he's in the Moriya Shrine, tied to a rope and hanging right above a large black cauldron with some sort of sickly colored yellow liquid, bubbling and steaming. Probably boiling.

Kanako and Suwako stand menacingly beside the pot, dressed in purple robes, there eyes cast in shadow as they smile wickedly.

Kanako says "I told you, if you touched my Sanae, retribution would follow."

Suwako then adds in a mysterious and dangerous tone "so we're going to have to cook you alive, and then..."

The rope breaks and Ail hears the goddesses laughing wickedly as he splashes into the boiling liquid.

All turns black as he burns inside the liquid, then Sanae's voice calls for him.

-

"Ail! Ail~! Anilan, wake up!" shouts Sanae.

With a loud yelp and a startled jump, Ail finally wakes up, then touches himself.

He says "I'm... alive... I got my clothes on... and..."

He spots Sanae smiling at him and casually saying "good morning."

He yelps again and jumps out of the bed, falling to the floor on his face.

Sanae quickly helps him up, worriedly asking "Ail, what's the matter? Are you alright?"

Ail gets up rubbing the top of his head, saying "Sanae... bad dream. How's Budou?"

Sanae smiles and says "she's just woken up. The captain gave her some grapes and she seems to be recovering just fine. In fact, she wants to see you."

Ail finally wakes up entirely, smiles and says "I'm so relieved to hear that."

Sanae smiles and says "come one, sleepy head."

Sanae continues to stare at his face, admiring how the claw-marks are almost completely gone; only a small fraction of it remains beside his right eye.

Ail asks "S-Sanae? What is it?"

Sanae giggles as she twirls and faces the door, and smiling and still giggling, she says "nothing. Come one, Budou's waiting for you."

Ail watches curiously as Sanae continues to giggle as she leaves the room.

He wonders if something was the matter, but preferred not to think about it too much.

He was quite glad nothing like in his dream had happened, but at the same time he feels a little sad and disappointed.

After a bit, he follows Sanae to the next room to see Budou.

-

Immediately entering the girl's room, Ail hears a tired "Papa~!" from Budou.

His face shines bright with a smile after hearing Budou's voice again.

He turns to her and says "Budou, how are you?"

He kneels down beside her bed and gives her a hug.

She giggles and says "papa, I knew you and mama were coming. I just knew it!"

The little blond elven fairy flies just above Budou, staring at Ail straight into his eyes, then bows.

Instinctively, Ail says "it's alright. There's no need to apologize."

Budou smiles and says "Phredia is so nice. She still wants to apologize. She thought you wanted to hurt me too."

Both Ail and Sanae lightly gasp, then Sanae asks "hurt... you? Budou, what happened to you?"

Ail adds "I am very curious as to what happened too. That barrier I placed on you was not weak at all."

Budou stops smiling and says "it was Phredia. She though I was trapped, so she cut the top off and got me out of there three days ago."

Ail looks curious and asks Phredia "you're that powerful?"

Phredia silently nods, then Sanae asks "but if you've been out for only 3 days, why are you so weak... what happened?"

Budou's eyes show great fear as she says "Phredia and I stayed close to papa's barrier because I knew you'd come, but... These monsters... they were horrible. They said they wanted my blood... I was scared, but Phredia was very brave and fought them off for a whole day."

Ail looks at Phredia and says "then I owe Phredia my eternal thanks." Sanae nods and bows to Phredia.

The little fairy blushes a little and turns her eyes away.

Budou smiles and says "she's so bashful."

Ail brushes Budou's hair with his fingers and asks "but then... what happened? You look hurt, and your clothes, you wings..."

Budou trembles and whimpers a little as she says "I was so hungry... I couldn't fly away. After Phredia scared away all those monsters, one of them grabbed us from behind. I couldn't fly away, papa. He squeezed us a lot. His hands had spikes, and they hurt me so much. Phredia started glowing, then this bright light turned the monster into sand, but after that, I couldn't move, then I went to sleep."

Budou smiles when she adds "but papa and mama woke me up! And they saved Phredia too! I am so happy"

Ail and Sanae smile tenderly, then Sanae says "well, miss Phredia, once we get back to Gensokyo, what are you going to do?"

Phredia immediately hugs Budou's neck, then Budou says "she asks if she can stay with me."

Ail and Sanae look at each other curiously, then Ail asks "Phredia talks?"

Budou looks a bit surprised and says "well of course she can, papa! What kind of question is that!?"

Ail sweats and says "yeah, sorry. Well then, of course Phredia can stay with you, then."

Sanae adds "I agree. Seems she loves Budou as much as we do."

Phredia blushes again and hides her face inside Budou's hair.

Budou giggles and weakly cheers and says "yay... Phredia can stay. Thank you mama, papa..."

With that, Budou falls immediately asleep again.

Ail whispers "she's so tired."

He takes her little white bow from his pocket and places it on the left side of her head as Sanae says "it seems that creature's hands had some poison on them."

Phredia nods excitedly. Ail and Sanae look at each other worriedly, but keep quiet.

Ail thinks "I'm sorry, Budou, but I'm taking you to Eirin's when we get home."

He looks back at Sanae, and she nods back at him, as if knowing what he was just thinking.

-

Ail leaves the room and says "I think I'm going to explore around here for a bit."

Sanae replies "alright. I'll patch Budou's clothes in the meantime."

Ail smiles and waves as he closes the door behind him, then flies away, exploring the insides of the large ship.

All the fairies around stare at him curiously as he heads in deeper into the ship.

Reaching a very dark area of the ship, Ail thinks "whoa... I wonder what's going on here. It's so dark."

From farther ahead, he notices thousands of tiny red dots.

He gets a very bad feeling and decides to head back, but the moment he turns around, he comes face-to-face with Nazrin, who looks at him menacingly, with tears in her eyes.

Ail asks "miss Nazrin... what's the matter?"

In her hands, Nazrin holds two peculiar black rods that have the symbols for North and West on one, East and South on the other.

She angrily asks "what are you doing here, human!? Get out of here, now!"

Ail realizes the thousand red dots are actually Nazrin's army of mice.

He looks into her glowing red eyes and asks "what did I do to you? Maybe I can..."

Nazrin shouts "my best friend sacrificed himself to save YOU! Why? You're just a lowly human! Why did he have to die for YOU!?"

Not knowing what she's talking about, Ail decides to keep quiet.

Nazrin shouts "I'll avenge him! Yes, that's what he would want! Human, you are going to DIE today!"

Ail keeps his eyes on Nazrin, who starts hovering ominously above him, positioning her rods menacingly in front of her. He can hear her mice squeaking excitedly, all of their eyes glowing blood-red along with Nazrin's.

Ail looks at her seriously and calmly says "miss Nazrin, you don't want to do this."

Nazrin shouts "what the hell do YOU know, human! Today, the mouse beats the all mighty human. COME ON!"

Ail sighs as he face-palms, then hovers along with her and says "don't say I didn't warn you."

Nazrin lets out an annoyed "tch!" and just like that, lilac petal danmaku flies straight at Ail as she waves her rods up and down, always positioning them away from each other.

Ail dodges the danmaku with much ease, barely moving at all, however, he doesn't fire back.

Nazrin gets furious and shouts "if you're gonna let yourself get killed, then STOP MOVING!"

She intensifies the speed of the bullets, and still, Ail dodges them with ease.

He sighs as he fires a pair of white lasers, accompanied by three orange orbs, striking Nazrin quite hard.

-

Nazrin flinches and drops her rods on the ground while rubbing her face.

She glares furiously at Ail and says "that was cheap. If that's how you want to play, I'll make sure to make you feel sorry."

Ail stares calmly and asks "so you still want to fight?"

Nazrin growls, quickly recovers her rods, and pulls a spell card from under her capelet and shouts "Search Sign - Rare Metal Detector"

Nazrin fires six light-blue lasers, two to Ail's left and right, two to Nazrin's, then two just above her, all spread into a circle of scattered light-blue danmaku bullets after hitting the walls, then she moves toward the left as she fires 8 more lasers to the right, all spreading into bullets as they hit the walls.

She quickly goes to the right, firing 14 more lasers around and above her and using her bullets for cover, then finally, fires 12 light-green lasers.

Ail dodges all the lasers and bullets quite calmly, but does not shoot back at all.

Nazrin is just about to start her attack once more, when Ail calmly says "give it up. I don't want to have to hurt you."

Nazrin smiles and says "you're just afraid I'll beat you up."

Ail shrugs and casually says "fine... I'll just do THIS!"

Ail surrounds himself with a strange flickering white and blue barrier that attracts Nazrin's bullets, then sends them straight back at her, just as she continues her attack.

She falls to the floor, and immediately her army of mice squeaks angrily at Ail.

Ail hovers a little higher, however the mice are climbing the walls and setting themselves just above him; he looks worried.

Nazrin shouts "don't you DARE! He's mine to finish! YOU can have his flesh afterward!"

All the mice back away into the darkness, so Ail relaxes.

Nazrin pulls out another spell card and angrily shouts "Vision Sign - Nazrin Pendulum"

The pendant on Nazrin's necklace glows brightly and splits into 3 very large crystals that surround, and protect her.

The crystals spin around, expand and retract as they shoot small blue crystal danmaku.

Nazrin also shoots one extra large red danmaku orb, and as time passes, the shoots them a little faster.

Ail calmly dodges all the shots and the extra large orbs, without firing once at Nazrin.

Nazrin, sounding a little desperate, says "hahah, die human!"

She intensifies her spell, making the crystals spin faster and shooting many more orbs, using too much energy in doing so.

Ail notices this and decides to stop her, before she kills herself.

The moment the crystals expand, Ail moves in and tackles Nazrin toward her mice, defeating her spell card in the process.

-

Nazrin sits up with the help of her mice, all staring dangerously at Ail, who surrounds himself with a barrier the exact size of his body, making it into a blue of suit, however, it hinders his movement.

Nazrin has her face full of tears, her cheeks red with rage.

She clenches her teeth, almost bearing her gums, and shouts "get him, GET HIM! Avenge our friend!"

In an instant, all the mice jump and cling on Ail, however, the barrier protects him, and yet the mice keep gnawing on it.

One of them manages to actually eat a piece of the barrier off.

Ail notices this and thinks "if I don't do something soon, they're gonna eat me alive... but if I hurt one of these guys she'll only get madder."

The lights turn on in that dark room just as an anchor lands next to Ail and the mice.

Startled, all the mice scatter away from Ail immediately.

Minamitsu glares angrily and asks "Are you ok, Ail?"

Ail exhales and says "yes, captain. Thanks a lot. *phew*"

Minamitsu continues to glare angrily as she gets closer to Nazrin.

She grabs the mouse youkai by her shirt, pulls her up, growling and forcing a most dangerous smile, she asks "what the hell are you doing?"

Afraid, Nazrin looks away and keeps quiet.

Ail releases himself from the barrier, raises his hand and says "please... don't. Not on my stead, please. Just tell me, what happened? Why is she so angry for her friend... and who was her friend?"

Murasa looks neutrally at Nazrin, releases her, and says "I'll report this to lady Hijiri. Be thankful for him, or I'd have punished you to no ends. Lady Hijiri asked us to bring them back ALIVE, Naz!"

Nazrin continues to kneel on the floor, looking at the tatami flooring, hoping Minamitsu will leave her alone.

The captain turns to Ail and says "you remember that really big demon, right?"

Ail nods, then Minamitsu continues "well, her friend was a really special mouse she cared for since he was a baby. He had to sacrifice himself, or that demon would have caught this ship and torn it apart in a snap of his fingers."

Ail looks at Nazrin and says "I see. So I've been wrongly accused by miss Nazrin."

Nazrin springs up and shouts "it's YOUR fault he's DEAD! He died to save YOUR sorry human lives!"

Ail gets uncomfortably close to Nazrin's face and looks at her with a neutral expression and says "wrong, miss Nazrin, but before I say more, consider this. If he REALLY had sacrificed himself for 'me', wouldn't killing me yourself dishonor his sacrifice?"

Nazrin bumps her forehead on Ail's and tries to shout, but then opens her eyes, then realizes what Ail means.

Ail says "but he DIDN'T sacrifice himself for me, or Sanae. If what Captain Murasa says is true, your friend sacrificed himself for YOU!"

Nazrin drops on her knees as Ail says this. When she thinks about it, she realizes Ail is right. She wants to apologize, but can't speak at all.

Ail smiles and says "you see? I am right, am I not?"

Nazrin's eyes get glassy as she stares at Ail from the floor and tries to speak, but can't seem to find the words.

Ail offers his hand to help Nazrin up, saying "apology accepted, if you promise not to eat me... ok?"

Nazrin stares at his hand, then back up to him, then at Minamitsu, who edges her to accept Ail's offer.

Nazrin springs up on her own, then runs away, hiding her face from the others.

Ail and Minamitsu look at each other, then Minamitsu says "that girl... she's really a good girl at heart. A little too hard-headed sometimes, but what can you expect from a mouse, huh?"

Ail sweats and tries to smile, but can't seem to say anything.

-

Back at the dormitories, Sanae finishes patching up Budou's clothes and she and Phredia manage to clothe Budou while she sleeps.

The little bat youkai moans happily, then wraps her wings around herself as she continues to sleep.

Sanae wraps her under the bed sheets, then sighs and whispers to Phredia "thanks for all your help."

The elven fairy happily bows, then flutters right beside Budou.

Just then, Ail knocks and enters the room with Captain Murasa. He asks "how's Budou doing?"

Sanae smiles and says "sleeping like a little angel."

Minamitsu, at the top of her lungs, shouts "oh right, I forgot to tell you, we are at FULL POWER, so we'll be back home in about 2 hours!"

Both Sanae and Ail look at Minamitsu with both surprise and anger. They look at Budou and notice she is still asleep.

Minamitsu covers her mouth and softly says "oh my, I'm sorry."

Budou starts to turn around, moaning and clenching her eyes tight, but stops and doesn't wake up. All three wipe their foreheads and wipe the sweat off, then Budou starts crying, calling for her papa and mama.

All three look at each other in disbelief, then Minamitsu salutes them, smiles and right before closing the door she says "well, seems you got your hands full here, so I'll just be heading out, bye." then leaves.

As Sanae and Ail try to calm Budou down, they look at each other and Ail asks "when we land?"

Sanae smiles wickedly and quickly adds "I'll smack her head."

-

At Gensokyo, in the Forest of Magic, Mystia finishes placing the last bits of straw on a brand new nest on a sturdy branch of a healthy tree.

She sighs contently and says "phew, finished at last."

She hums happily, then starts singing "my nest on a tree~! Green leaves for me~! Get storms away from here~! La la la~!"

She continues to hum her song, over and over, unaware that underneath her, behind her tree, someone stalks her, like a shark circling it's prey.

The black hat with a white ribbon moves from bush to bush, making no sound as it quickly hides, every time Mystia looks behind her.

For some time, Mystia looks all around her. She continues to look around for some time, but then shrugs, then continues to sing and hum.

Just above her, to her left, the blond fire witch, Yuki, slowly and quietly slithers, positioning herself right next to Mystia's ear, and quietly takes a deep breath and then shouts, at the top of her lungs "I'M GONNA EAT SPARROW FOR DINNER~~!!!"

Mystia panics and flutters her wings desperately, her eyes shrinking to the size of marbles as she struggles to quickly fly away.

Finally, she manages to get airborne, shouting "CHI~~~~N!!!"

Yuki laughs so much, first she drops from the branch above, to Mystia's branch.

Unable to control herself, she continues to laugh harder, then without realizing it, she falls off the tree, landing face-down to the ground next to the tree, however, she continues to laugh.

Finally calming down, Yuki says to herself "ho-ho~ man that was so easy! I wonder who should I visit next?"

She looks around and between some leaves, she sees Alice's white house.

She smiles with jagged teeth and says "target sighted! Commence mission."

Yuki looks toward the sky and notices Mai flying just above her, angrily calling "Yuki~~! Yuki, when I find you, you are DEAD! Yu~ki~!"

Mai heads straight to Alice's house, so Yuki thinks "tch, dammit. Abort mission. I'll just come back later. Geez, I just ate the last cake. She doesn't have to overreact like that. Bah, whatever!" then hides behind some bushes and continues to swim around them, only her black hat showing above the leaves.

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Byakuren and Shou climb the very last step to the shrine, both panting and leaning against the large gate in front of the shrine.

Shou says "l...lady Hijiri... maybe *pant* next time *pant* we can fly."

Byakuren takes a deep breath to recover, but can't stop panting, and says "now *pant* now Shou, sometimes *pant* some exercise... is good *pant* for you."

Watching the whole show, is Maribel, who has her magical cat ears exposed.

She holds a broom on her left hand, placing her right hand on her waist and asking "are you alright?"

Byakuren and Shou realize they are being watched, and miraculously recover and stand straight, in front of Maribel.

Byakuren smiles and says "Maribel, so nice to see you. Is Reimu here?"

Maribel bows her head and smiles, then says "miss Hijiri, miss Toramaru. Yes, I'll get her for you."

Maribel takes a deep breath as Byakuren says "oh, please do; I have something impor-"

Before Byakuren finishes her sentence, Maribel shouts so loud, both Shou and Byakuren duck, covering their ears.

"MI~~SS REI~~MU~~!!!! YOU HAVE VISITO~~RS!!!"

Maribel smiles angelically, while inside, after the sound of glass breaking on the floor, Reimu's voice angrily replies "dammit!! Maribel, I told you not to DO that!"

Reimu storms to the front of the shrine, looking very annoyed.

She grabs Maribel by her purple dress and while clenching her teeth, she asks "why are you screaming now?"

Maribel continues to smile and points at Byakuren and Shou.

Both wave their hands and smile casually saying "hi~"

A blue shadow is cast on Reimu's eyes.

She lets go of Maribel, bows and nervously says "w-welcome, Byakuren, Shou. What can I do for you today? Heh heh."

Byakuren smiles and says "great news, Reimu. I just received word that the Palanquin is headed this way. It should be here in one hour."

Reimu looks unimpressed and asks "so?"

Byakuren sweats and smiles as she says "it has 4 very special passengers~."

For a second, Reimu doesn't understand, but suddenly gasps and smiles widely, then asks "you mean, Ail, Sanae, AND Budou? Err... who's the fourth one?"

Shou says "someone called 'Phredia'. Seems to be a friend. We though you knew her."

Reimu continues to smile widely and says "well, if she's with them, she must be a friend. Ooh~, MIMA, RENKO, come quick!"

As Mima, Renko and Suika walk out the shrine, Reimu asks "where are they disembarking?"

Byakuren smiles and giggles, then says "right here. They should be here in about an hour or so."

Reimu turns to Mima, still smiling, and says "Mima, tell Kanako and Suwako to come as quickly as they can. Renko, Maribel, you two make sure everything's ready here. There's gonna be a party, you can be sure of that."

Maribel and Renko salute Reimu and say "right away!" then both split up and head to different areas around the shrine.

Marisa, startling Reimu, asks "what should I do, daze?"

Reimu recovers quickly and says "help me prepare the food!"

While Reimu and Marisa discussed what to cook, Shou and Byakuren, a little surprised, look at each other, sweat, then Shou says "do you think we did the right thing here?"

Byakuren flaps her hand and says "hey, hey... if we didn't tell her, she might seal us."

Shou crosses her arms and looking very serious, she nods.

Suika stares at everyone with her narrow, childish eyes and shouts "FINE~! I'll take care of the sake again!" turns into a mist, and flies away, while Marisa, Reimu, Byakuren and Shou stare at her in surprise.

-

Exactly 1 Hour Later:

Kanako has JUST arrived and is excitedly running around, telling everyone "Sanae's coming home" while smiling widely, like a child in a candy store.

Reimu stands on at the front of the gate, smiling excitedly, awaiting the arrival of the Palanquin.

Marisa sits by the donation box, repeating "calm down, Reimu. Calm down."

Suwako hops toward Marisa, then jumps on top of the donation box, positions herself to face toward the shrine's stairs, then takes a deep breath and starts singing "Aauuu~ auu aa~~uuu~!"

Reimu gets mighty annoyed, turns around and shouts "what the hell is that for!!?"

Suwako pulls a pair of sad eyes on Reimu, even flickering with tears, as she says "it's a blessing, to help them come home safely!"

Reimu looks at Suwako a little disgusted, but apparently, her sad eyes did the trick as Reimu sighs and says "fine... just try to keep it down."

-

Ail, who's holding Budou, Sanae, Phredia, Minamitsu and Nazrin are all on the ship's deck, looking down from above the clouds.

Minamitsu spots the Hakurei Shrine and says "alright, we're here. You guys can fly, right?"

Ail nods and says "thanks for everything, Captain Murasa. We owe you quite a lot."

Sanae bows and says "yes, thank you very much."

Minamitsu blushes tomato red and says "aww, come on, don't get all sappy on me like this."

Sanae giggles while Ail quietly smiles at Minamitsu.

Sanae, Ail and Phredia wave to Nazrin and the captain, but just before they fly off, Nazrin shouts "wa~it!"

Ail, Sanae and Minamitsu look curiously at Nazrin, who now has a pair of baby mice tn the basket on her tail.

She looks down to the floor before looking at Ail and says "I'm sorry... about all I said and did."

Ail smiles and says "you are forgiven."

Sanae looks curiously at Ail and Nazrin, then back at Ail, then asks "err, what happened?"

Ail smiles as he calmly replies "just a small misunderstanding. Now come on, I want to see everyone."

Budou adds "I want to see Hakurei sis, and bookworm, and bookworm 2, and granny, and..."

Sanae giggles and Ail chuckles as Budou keeps naming more friends, then again, they wave at Nazrin and Minamitsu, then jump off the ship, Phredia quietly following them.

From the height they are in, the shrine looks very small, but as they descend, it grows in size.

Ail is finally able to see Reimu, so he signals Sanae to land behind her.

Quietly, the four of them land behind Reimu.

Suwako opens her eyes wide and Marisa smirks, as Ail and Sanae signal them to be quiet.

They want to surprise Reimu, but Suwako can't hide her excitement in her eyes.

Reimu looks at her curiously and asks "Suwako... what's wrong with you now?"

Just as Reimu turns around, Lily White crashes on to Ail and clings to his neck, shouting "you're BA~~CK!!!"

By the time Reimu turns around, Ail and Sanae are being surrounded by everyone, except herself.

Reimu places her hands on her waist, sighs, shrugs, then casually walks toward the group of youkai, humans and gods surrounding the returning humans, and their youkai.

-

Throughout the afternoon, Lily White leaves, looking tired and almost falling asleep.

Kyo, Suika, Mima and Aya, hold a drinking contest, while Nitori, Momiji, and Renko just watch.

Orin and Satori chat with Maribel; the goddesses hold on to Sanae tightly, hugging her and rubbing their cheeks against Sanae's; Marisa, Yuki, Alice and Mai are sitting in a semi-circle, talking about spells and potions, and Ail sits by the entrance of the shrine with Phredia sitting on his shoulder while Reimu continues to hold Budou on her lap and brushing her hair with her hand.

Byakuren and Alice get closer to Ail and Reimu, then sit next to them, while Shou and Minamitsu head toward the drinking contestants.

Reimu smiles and says "I'm so glad to see you all back. You know I'm sorry about..."

Ail chuckles and says "no apologies needed. Besides, I almost gave up searching for that source, if it wasn't that I'm so darn stubborn when it comes to fate."

Byakuren looks surprised and asks "what do you mean?"

Ail sighs and says "I could see that energy flow almost as clearly as Reimu, and on the second day of searching, I was already thinking of giving up... however..."

By now, almost everyone has their attention set on Ail and Reimu.

Ail takes a deep breath and says "however, as luck would have it, I saw a footprint too large to be of Medicine's or Luna's at the Nameless Hill. I followed the direction is was pointing to and found that Crystal Knight hiding inside a cave. That's when I managed to feel the actual energy flow."

Reimu keeps quite so Ail adds "at first, I couldn't grasp the whole situation, since I could see the energy flowing differently than that of what I felt."

Reimu raises her sight and says "I see. I guess I should have listened to you after all."

Ail starts to sweat and tries to think of what to say, but then Alice asks "hey, Ail. Is that... a doll on your shoulder?"

Phredia looks a little annoyed, so Ail immediately says "oh, she's a fairy, actually. A really powerful one too."

Alice sighs as Reimu smiles and says "I see. She made a pact to protect Budou. It seems to be unbreakable."

Reimu stares at the fairy and says "she's the real thing. Her power could even surpass my own."

All stare at Reimu, then worriedly at Phredia, however, the little fairy continues to sit on Ail's shoulder, looking down to the floor, blushing.

Reimu then smiles and says "lucky she's not mischievous."

Phredia lifts her sights and smiles at Reimu, then immediately flies toward her hugs and kisses Reimu on the cheek, then rests on Reimu's shoulder.

-

Reimu and Byakuren look seriously at Ail after staring at Budou, who continues to yawn, wake up for a few seconds, then fall asleep again.

Byakuren asks "is she alright?"

Ail says "I'll need to take her to see Eirin. She was starving when I found her, and seems a demon over at that Makai managed to poison her."

Reimu, sounding worried, scolds Ail "Anilan, you should have taken her there immediately! She's just a child!"

Ail sighs and says "true. I better-"

A sudden chill reaches Ail, Reimu, Byakuren and Alice.

They all look behind them and notice Kanako and Suwako staring into Kanako's mirror, which she is holding in her hand and pointing it toward Ail.

A wicked shadow is cast upon their eyes as they smile wickedly.

Kanako, in a twisted tone, says "YOU~~! You tried to kiss my Sanae!?"

Reimu, Byakuren and Alice get away from Ail as he springs up with fear on his face.

Kanako looks on and gasps in horror, then shouts "not just once b-b-b-but TWICE!?"

Suwako shouts and says "AAH~! Perverted dreaming! Look, look at that!"

Sanae shouts "hey, what are you guys doing!? Lady Yasaka, lady Moriya, stop that RIGHT NOW!"

Ignoring Sanae, Kanako, in a threateningly dangerous voice says "Suwako, you take the right."

Suwako, in an equally threatening voice, says "I'll just blast him where he-... Where did he go!?"

Everyone inside, even the drunkards, all turn their eyes to where Ail was when Kanako shouts "HE'S GONE! Suwako!"

Suwako gets under the ground, shouting "ON IT!" then Kanako immediately takes to the air, shouting "I know where you live, Ail~~!"

Sanae Runs to the door of the shrine and shouts "Wait! Kanako, Suwako, if you hurt him, I'll stop cooking for a week!"

Just before Sanae flies after them, Reimu pulls her by the shoulder.

Sanae angrily turns around and asks "what!? What is-?"

Ail is holding Budou behind Reimu while halfway inside a blue gap. Sanae sighs with relief and smile at him.

Ail says "I'll be at Eirin's with Budou. Want to come?"

Both Phredia and Sanae head straight inside the gap, Phredia positioning herself on Budou's left shoulder.

Reimu says "I'll follow later. First I'll try to keep those goddesses busy."

Ail bows and says "thanks. I'll see you later then."

From behind the shrine, Luna shouts "did something happen!?"

Youmu shouts "Hey, we're having a match here. Don't disrespect me!"

Yuyuko whimsically says "Youmu~, don't get too close."

A blast rattles the ground, then Yuyuko says "I told you~!"

Reimu face-palms and says "Maribel, please take care of that for me."

Maribel salutes Reimu and says "passively blast intruders. Got it!" then rushes outside.

Reimu shouts "no, Maribel, wait!"

Minamitsu stands next to Byakuren, simply watching Reimu chasing after Maribel, when she feels a smack on her head.

She turns around and sees Sanae smiling at her, then fire surrounds her as she angrily says "that's for making Budou cry!!!" then enters the gap once more.

As Minamitsu rubs the back of her head, Byakuren stares at her in disbelief and says "Minamitsu, I can't believe you'd do something so mean."

-

To be continued...

Characters, scenario and spell cards belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Luna, Budou and Phredia were created by Willie G.R.

OCT 21 2009

written by

Willie G.R

* * *

**A/N: And here's another of my original character's profile.**

Ayalina Leuch Higani (Ail's mother)

Ail's mother and flower youkai who left Gensokyo when she fell in love with Ail's father. She mysteriously enters and exits Gensokyo, leaving magical flowers behind that turns to specs of energy when left for to long, or touched. She enters Gensokyo in order to help Reimu cheer up, and has decided to enter occasionally to mingle with the girls there (and embarrass Ail to no ends). Although quite calm and collected, when her son's in danger, she becomes angry and doesn't stop attacking until her target is blasted at least twice. (Ail fails to notice her overprotectivness). She is VERY similar to Yuyuko and Yukari when calm, and loves to eat almost as much as Yuyuko herself.

She has short brown hair she makes into a bun, maroon eyes and wears a green plaid dress and on top of that, a white apron with a large pocket in the front and wears black slip-on shoes.


	5. Chapter 4

It was quite a long night for Budou, Ail, Sanae, Phredia and Eirin.

Budou had woken up just as Eirin injected her with nutrients and anti-venom.

She tried to escape many times, but quickly, she lost all her strength.

Ail managed to get close to her with Phredia's help and convinced her to come out to be treated, with promise to blow up Eirin if she tried any experiments, which, of course, disappointed her quite a lot.

-

It's past midnight and Eirin is exhausted, so Reisen helps her to her room as soon as she receives Ail's payment.

Sanae holds on to Budou, who even asleep, refuses to let go.

Phredia falls asleep and uses Sanae's head as a bed and her hair as covers.

By the gates to the Entei Mansion, Reimu leans with her back against the wall, crossing her arm and smiling almost too wickedly.

She says "well, it was about time. How is she?"

Ail and Sanae smile back at Reimu, then Ail answers "luckily, she wasn't poisoned, but she was drained. That creature absorbed a lot of her blood along with some nutrients."

Sanae rubs Budou's head and says "it's a miracle she's alive."

Reimu stops smiling and looks to the ground.

Sanae and Ail look at each other and try to say something to her, but Reimu lifts her head up, smiles again, and says "glad to hear she's ok. Come. Kanako is waiting for Ail at his house, and Suwako is patrolling around her shrine. You should be safe at my shrine for tonight."

Ail and Sanae smile, then all fly toward Reimu's shrine.

Ail asks "we won't be a bother?"

Reimu calmly replies "of course not. Now come, Kanako's probably ready to do her rounds."

-

Morning at the Hakurei Shrine. Inside the shrine, the girls are all sleeping around each other in a circle, while Ail sleeps farther away.

Something quietly drags Ail's futon outside as he contently continues to sleep soundly.

Once outside, Kanako stands next to him, holding one of her largest logs with both her hands, smiling triumphantly, raising her log above her head and ready to strike down hard on the half-human.

As she smiles wickedly, she whispers "you tried to defile my Sanae, so now you receive just, godly punishment."

Kanako clenches her teeth as she raises the log high above her head, but then stops and drops her log upon feeling a painfully strong tug on her ear.

The log falls on the ground hard enough to strike Suwako, who is under the dirt, but jumps out immediately after being struck, then she ALSO feels a painfully strong tug on her ear.

Before either goddess can react, they are pulled together by their ears, head-butting each other hard, seeing stars flashing in front of their eyes as they both fall on the ground.

Sanae smiles while glaring angrily at both goddesses, who upon the sight, embrace each other tightly.

Shaking, Suwako asks "Sa-Sanae, wh-what's the matter? Heh heh."

Kanako adds "you didn't have to do that."

Maintaining the furious smile, Sanae stares at the goddesses and says "now you two listen up. You lay one finger on him, and you'll be cooking your own meals for a year, understand?"

Both Kanako and Suwako cry as they whimper "no~ anything but that!"

Suwako says "Sanae's cooking is the best. You can't do that."

Sanae continues to stare, and smiles as she says "then leave him ALONE!"

Kanako says "but he tried to dirty our Sanae"

One, then two strikes on the head for each goddess by Sanae leave two bumps on their heads.

Suwako asks "Why me too?"

Sanae says "leave-him-alone! Besides, what if I WANTED him to kiss me!?"

Suwako and Kanako look at each other through the corner of their eyes; Suwako whispers "she won't listen to us."

Kanako whisper back "what happened to my Sanae?"

Suwako replies "she grew up."

High above the skies, a little black blob flies toward the human village, unable to keep steady, as it asks "is that so~?"

-

Ail wakes up to a beautiful morning, just outside the shrine.

He looks around and wonders what is he doing out there, but shrugs and sits up on the futon, stretches and yawns, then is struck by a quick hug and a loud "PAPA~! Good morning papa!"

Budou clings on to Ail's neck, as energetic as she was before.

Ail chuckles and says "Budou, good morning. You seem to be feeling much better now, right?"

Budou giggles and says "yes. Papa was right. That lady was not bad after all! Oh yes, gramma and big sis want to say something to you!"

Ail thinks for a moment "gramma...? Big sis...?" He snaps his fingers and thinks "right... Kanako and Suwako."

From inside the shrine, looking apologetic, Suwako, with a bump on her head, and Kanako walk toward Ail, kneel in front of him, then say "we're sorry."

Ail stares with curiosity, then Kanako says "sorry for saying all that and for hunting you down."

Suwako adds "and for trying to throttle you this morning, and for trying to make you pee on the futon."

Ail opens his left eye wide, while Budou laughs.

Sanae comes with a bowl of water and says "caught her just in time too."

Ail sweats and scratches his right cheek, then says, with a forced smile "err... that's ok, I guess. No harm done, right? Apology accepted. Just... please, no more of this. I have a lot to take care of right now."

The goddesses continue to bow and say "thank you very much."

Kanako thinks "I'll get you yet."

Suwako thinks "we'll see about that."

Reimu comes walking from the shrine and says "ahh, you're awake. Good. Shou wants to see you at Byakuren's temple today."

Ail manages to get up with Budou on his arms and asks "Shou? Did she say what for?"

Reimu looks at his face and stares, then smiles and says "don't worry too much. Come on, let's eat. I'm starving."

Sanae smiles and says "I'll help with breakfast."

Ail adds "I'll get the table ready."

Budou shouts "I'll help papa!"

Kanako sighs and says "fine. Can we eat here too?"

Reimu sweats a little and says "this isn't a restaurant, you know!?"

As they head inside, Kanako says "aww, have a heart. We haven't had a nice meal in weeks."

Suwako gets annoyed and shouts "that's because you keep messing my cooking with those old recipes of yours!"

Kanako growls "who are you calling old, you dirty frog!?"

Mima, Maribel and Renko watch everything from inside the shrine, unable to say anything at all, but Maribel smiles, heads toward Kanako and Suwako, then says "you both look plenty young, so please stop fighting." then smiles at them.

The goddesses look neutrally at Maribel, then Suwako says "you're cute. Can I keep you?"

Maribel panics and sweats as she says "n- no~! What kind of question is that? Of course not!"

Suwako then says "Aww~ And here I was hoping to get a new pet. Cute kitty~!"

Suwako jumps on Maribel's back, then starts to gently pet her cat ears, making her relax and start purring.

Mima and Renko look at each other disgusted, then Mima says "that's so immature."

-

It's noon, and Ail finishes sweeping around Reimu's shrine, as thanks for the night and breakfast.

Sanae, Budou, Phredia, Kanako and Suwako are just about to leave when Ail says "please take care, and take good care of Budou for me."

Almost crying, Budou asks "but why can't we go home, papa!?"

Ail kneels, rubs Budou's head, then says "I'm sorry, Budou. I have to take care of something very important. But I'll go pick you up as SOON as I am done."

Budou sniffle as she wipes her nose with her forearm and says "ok papa. Be careful. The sparkles are looking after you, but they have to sleep too."

Ail smile and says "thanks. I'll be alright. You'll see."

From inside the shrine, a woman says "oh, she's purring. So CUTE~!"

They turn their attention to Reimu, who points to her left, then they turn to look at Renko, who looks neutral as she points to her right at Mima, who is rubbing Maribel's ears while her nose bleeds and red hearts fly all around her.

Maribel is lying on her stomach on the ground, smiling like a content cat on it's master's lap.

Renko sighs and says "so much for maturity."

Without realizing it, Suwako is no longer next to Kanako.

When they look around for her, they spot her at the other side of Maribel, rubbing her right ear and saying "cute, isn't she?"

Mima replies "and she's all mine~!" with a heart in her mouth.

Kanako sweats and looks on with disbelief. She walks inside, blowing a cloud puff from her mouth as she enters, then comes out, dragging Suwako by her leg.

Suwako struggles to go back inside, saying "wait, no. Let me stay a while longer. Come on, I wanna pet her some more! She so so~~ft, ple~~ase!"

Kanako growls "you got Budou, so stop complaining!"

Suwako calms down and gets up straight, then smiles and says "oh yeah, that's right!"

From inside, Mima's eyes are cast in a blue shadow, opening her mouth wide and sweating a little, then quickly leans to the floor, placing her left forearm on her forehead as she bangs the floor with her right arm, crying "that's s unfair~!"

Sanae gets closer to Ail and says "please... don't lose, ok! If you dare lose, I'm going to kill you!"

Ail chuckles nervously and says "I don't plan on losing. I'll come back, free as ever."

Sanae sighs, grabs Ail by his shoulder, then kisses his cheek, causing the two goddesses to stare at him with shadows cast on their eyes.

She backs away, grabs Budou, hiding her saddened face from the little youkai, and says "good luck then", then flies away, Phredia quickly following.

The goddesses force a twisted smile toward Ail, making him feel awkward and uneasy, then both fly after Sanae.

Ail turns to Reimu and Renko, bows and says "thanks for your hospitality."

Reimu replies "remember, she's very dangerous, so keep alert at all times."

Ail smiles, turns around and as he walks away he says "I'll see you guys later."

Renko gasps, then says "oh, that's right. Reimu, I have something to tend to, so I'll be heading out."

Reimu smirks and says "alright. Just keep your eyes open too, alright?"

Renko tries to smile back, but she is to nervous to do so, and says "y-... yeah, of course."

-

Ail lands in front of Byakuren's temple, and he's immediately greeted by Shou Toramaru.

"Well, hello, mister Ail. I was wondering if you got my message."

Ail smiles nervously and says "heh heh, sorry. So what is it, miss Shou?"

Shou gets uncomfortably close to Ail's face, and stares.

She says "please, close your right eye."

Ail, obediently closes his eye and asks "what's the matter?"

Shou shushes him, then gently brushes her fingers through the precise location as where her claw-marks were.

She smiles and shouts "HA! I can't believe it! You understood why I scratched your face like that, and you managed to learn what I wanted you to learn!"

Ail looks surprised, then Shou says "the claw-marks I gave you are gone... completely healed."

Ail smiles and says "I see... yes, it took some effort, but I finally understood, and I am grateful to all my friends for helping me as they did."

Shou smiles, grabs his right arm, places her hand on Ail's bracelet, making it glow orange for a moment, then lets go after the glowing stops.

Ail looks at the bracelet and notices a tiger design under the others, roaring fiercely, and swiping it's claw.

Shou continues to smile, then says "I need a big favor from you."

Ail looks at Shou, smiles, then asks "sure. What is is?"

Shou points toward the road that leads to the Misty Lake, then says "follow that road on foot. You should come across three mischievous little youkai who keep scaring villagers for their amusement. One of them is very powerful. A blond vampire dressed in red."

Ail looks seriously at Shou and asks "Flandre? Shouldn't you tell Reimu-?"

Shou speaks over Ail's voice, saying "this little vampire has an attachment to you, and only YOU can save her now."

Ail gets surprised and asks "save her!? What's wrong with her?"

Shou smiles and says "follow the road and you'll find out."

Ail stares neutrally at Shou, but turns his head when he hears a familiar voice calling to him.

"A~~il! A~~~IL!"

Ail looks on as Nitori flies toward him, hovering above the ground, using one of her rockets to fly to him, holding a box on her hand.

She stops just in front of him and her rocket gets inside her backpack.

She smiles and says "I finished! They are ready for you!"

Ail looks confused and says "Nitori, so glad to see you... er, what do you mean?"

Nitori narrows her eyes while smiling, then opens the box and Ail sees his old boots, fully restored and looking like new.

Ail looks on with awe and says "my old boots... You finished them, I see. They... look like NEW!"

Nitori smiles and says "they are IMPROVED. These babies will help you increase your power with the new energy device I implanted in the sole. It should also make walking a LOT more comfortable than those tattered black slippers."

Shou and Ail look at his slippers. Shou giggles, then Ail sits on the ground, pulls them off, grabs his boots, then puts them on.

Immediately, he feels a surge of energy as Nitori says "your power should be nehanced the second you tie those laces. I've added a few other features too, but I'll let you figure that out on your own."

Ail shivers, but keeps quiet.

Nitori happily says "and so, I will expect your payment soon, but please, don't feel obligated to pay all at once. Take your time. And with that, I leave you now. Take care."

Nitori winks, her rocket pops out of her backpack, then fires up and sends her flying through the skies at great speeds, back to the Youkai Forest, while she screams her lungs out.

Shou smiles and says "I'll be taking these destroyed slipper and dispose of them for you."

Ail smiles and says "thank you very much, miss Shou. I best be off now. Please take care."

Shou chuckles and says "you better take care too. Lady Hijiri would be sad if you didn't return."

Ail smiles back, however, he doesn't know what to answer back, so he just signals Shou a farewell, then follows the road to the Misty Lake.

Shou smirks, then stares at Ail's old, destroyed shoes as she walks toward the Temple.

-

Noon at the Bamboo forest. The sky is turning gold, slowly, as the sun begins it's descent.

One of Yukari's gaps opens up in the middle of the forest, and out comes a girl in shrine maiden outfit, who falls rolling on the ground and lands on her stomach after she stops rolling.

Yukari, whose voice echoes all around the girl, says "let's see if you are truly ready, sweetie. If you can survive long enough to find me, then I'll consider you ready... if no~t... Well, I'll let your family know."

From the ground, the girl shouts "hey... wait a minute! Yukari?"

The girl gets up on her feet. She has long wavy brown hair that reaches her waist, and an enchanting pair of light-blue eyes, the color of the sky. She wears a common kimono-style shrine maiden outfit. The bottom skirt is white with red Strips from both sides that go to the bottom end of her skirt. The upper part is white and long sleeved, much like Reimu's old outfit, and around her neck, she wears a big red ribbon with flame designs and the letters in kanji for "The Will of Fire" half written in one part of the ribbon, the other half at the other part of the ribbon.

Looking confused, she looks around and shouts "Yukari~! Where are you~!"

She crosses her arms, hugging herself, and says "oh... I guess she knows better."

The girl extends her arms beside herself, clenches her right hand into a fist, placing it bravely in front of her right cheek, and with great determination in her eyes she says "I will pass this test! Just you watch me!"

A suddenly rustle to her left startles the girl, joining both arms on her chest, clenching her hands together, raising her left leg, then trembles as she says "who- Who is there? Show yourself!"

For a moment, the rustling stops, then, a small white rabbit pops from between the bamboo.

The girl lowers her guard and says "aww, it's just a cute little bunny. Hello little friend."

She smiles as she approaches the rabbit, ready to pat it's head, when she realizes there is a girl dressed in pink, wearing a carrot in a necklace, with red eyes, short black hair, and a pair of white rabbit ears, staring at her.

The rabbit smiles wickedly and says "well, here's a face I've never seen before."

The girl stares curiously at the rabbit girl and asks "are those ears real?"

The rabbit girl says "your definitely not form around here, huh? Well, consider yourself lucky. My name is Tewi Inaba, and I happen to be the youkai of luck! Stick with me, and you'll be ju~st fine!"

The girl stares at Tewi for a moment. Tewi says "staring is rude, miss, er.. what's your name?"

The girl gets a little startled, then bows and quickly says "my, I'm sorry. My name is Rika. Pleasure to meet you, miss Inaba."

With glints in her eyes, Tewi places her arm around Rika's neck, then says "please, call me Tewi. Now then, come with me!"

As they walk toward the unknown, Tewi casually asks "so what's your family name? Are you being rude to me? And what brings you to MY forest, Rika?"

Rika replies "I'm sorry, but I am an orphan, so I don't really have a family name... and I'm supposed to find someone, miss Tewi. Your forest is so pretty, by the way."

Tewi chuckles and repeats "please, call me Tewi. Just Tewi."

-

Tewi leads Rika to a clearing in the forest. Many rabbits, white, brown, black, and blotched colored, all surround Rika, as Tewi sits on a make-shift throne.

She closes her eyes and proudly says "Rika, since you have invaded my forest, I will ask of you three favors in return for my help."

As the rabbits get closer to Rika, she asks "three... favors?"

Tewi continues to talk with her eyes close, her chest expanded, and looking important as she says "yes. And if you fail even one, I will not help you, got it?"

Tewi gets no response, so she opens one eye, then realizes Rika is kneeling next to the rabbits, petting as many as she can, smiling angelically as she does.

Tewi looks on with disbelief, feeling a little sick on the stomach, then asks "are you even listening to me?"

Rika calmly replies "yes, mi- er, Tewi. Please, tell me what I must do."

Tewi smirks, then says "I've been walking all day all around my precious forest. Please, rub my royal feet."

Rika's eyes are cast in shadow as she asks "ru-rub your feet?"

Tewi stretches her legs and toes, then wiggles them around as she stretches them, then says "yup. Don't think this is all just for me. I'm a rabbit. You should get LOADS of luck if you rub my feet."

Rika sweats while she forces a weak chuckle along with a small smile, then finds herself rubbing the feet of what she believe to be, the queen of the forest.

During this time, Rika says "my, for such a hard worker, your feet seem to be in perfect condition, Tewi."

Tewi smiles and says "why, thank you very much. Now..."

Tewi gets up with a hop, feeling relaxed and very soothed, then sits back down on her throne and says "for the second favor, I want you to build an elaborate set of traps on the road."

Rika looks quite confused, then Tewi says "we have to keep the enemies of the forest at bay. Let them know, the queen doesn't suffer fools lightly!"

Rika thinks for a moment, then smiles and says "ah, that makes sense to me!"

Tewi then adds "you've got one hour~!"

Rika opens her mouth wide, her eyes cast in shadow, and sweating after hearing the ridiculous time limit for the request.

-

1 HOUR LATER

Rika returns to Tewi.

Her clothes are a little dirty, but she smiles as she holds a small white rabbit on her arm and pets it with her other hand, then says "mi-... Tewi, the traps are all set!"

Tewi looks at Rika and says "really? Well, took you a little longer than I had hoped, but I'll be a kind queen and consider this a success, IF they work correctly."

Rika stares confused and asks "but how will we know how they...?"

Tewi shushes Rika and says "the enemy approaches. Keep quiet."

Rika hears the voice of a woman contently humming as she walks down the road.

Her footsteps stop, then the woman says "oh... this is odd. What a beautiful flower. But I've never seen a flower as beautiful as this growing around these parts."

The sound of a heavy bag being set on the ground echoes lightly around, then quiet.

The woman says "my, I should replant this somewhere else, or someone will step on it."

The sound of rope tightening reaches the clearing, along with the woman's scream of horror.

The sound of the rope snapping, as the woman continues to scream at the top of her lungs reaches them, then a metallic 'clang' and a crushing sound, along with light choking, then a loud explosion, a splat, a burst of fire, and then a rumble!

Rika stands behind Tewi, counting with her fingers, leaving her pinkie upward.

From the road, the woman cries "ow, o-hoh-how, OW~. What was all that just now!?"

Tewi chuckles mischievously as Rika taps her shoulder lightly.

Tewi pushes Rika's hand away, then Rika says "but, your majesty... I mean, Tewi. One of the traps-"

Tewi turns around, looking triumphant, then says "a-pa-pa! For the last favor, I want you to find the exact value..."

She rummages around her dress, then pulls out a paper and a pencil, then finishes saying "...of pi!"

Rika can't believe her ears. She backs away, her eyes cast in shadow, her mouth wide open, her hair springing up from various parts of her head, and the atmosphere behind her turning blue and heavy.

She stutters as she asks "e-e-exact va-v-value? O-of pi? B-but, but-"

Tewi forces the paper and pencil on Rika's hands, then smiles. Rika sweats as some more strands of hair spring form her head, then another pair of voices are heard coming from the other side of the road.

One sounds very young, and says "the sound came from here!"

A more adult-sounding voice replies "alright... what's this?"

The younger voice says "ooh, dumplings!"

Immediately, a whirring sound along with the girl's scream, followed by a loud explosion and crumbling sound fills the forest.

The adult woman shouts "PRINCESS!!!"

Rika asks "princess?"

Tewi freezes in fear. There is silence, then Tewi breathes with relief, saying "phew.. I think they're go-"

An arrow flies just beside Tewi, clinging to her clothes and sending her against the bamboo wall, trapping her.

Rika shouts "queen Tewi!!!"

A silver-haired woman wearing a red and blue outfit and a matching nurse cap asks "queen?"

She points her arrow at Rika and says "I see. Miss, come with me. I'm afraid you have been tricked. And as for you!"

The woman turns her attention to Tewi and gets closer, looking at the rabbit girl with murderous eyes, casting her shadow on Tewi.

-

Ail walks toward the Misty Lake, lost in though as for the reasons of having to deal with Flandre.

He thinks to himself "this isn't good... I can't fight both Flandre and Remilia on the same day... they'll destroy me. What to do?"

A wicked child-like laughter makes Ail stop where he stands. He immediately recognizes Flandre's laughter, followed by Rumia's, and then, a third one he can't seem to recognize.

Everything turns dark; Ail is unable to see anything at all, and then, right in front of him are Rumia, Flandre, and whom he believes is Agava.

He points at her and asks "A... Agava, is that you?"

Agava smiles and says "hey, haven't seen you in a while, dummy."

Ail snaps his fingers and says "yup, that's Agava. So what can I help you with?

" Flandre scoffs and says "you're not even saying hello, huh? Just glance and walk away!? I don't think so big-... Ail!"

Ail immediately realizes, by the looks on her eyes, that she's angry.

Ail concernedly asks "Flandre, what's the matter? There's... something about you. Why are you so sad?"

Flandre shouts "SAD!? You are as stupid as I thought. I'm not sad, I'm ANGRY! You are the reason big sister got HURT!"

Ail calmly replies "you know I'd never do anything to hurt any of you on purpose, Flan. You know that."

Flandre thinks for a moment. She knows he's right.

All she really wants to do is jump on him and give him a bone-breaking hug, but her pride gets the best of her, then she shouts "you made me weak! If I was stronger, I'd have NEVER let Agava trick me like that. I'd have blown her to bits!!"

Agava waves her hand and says "hey, I'm right here~."

Ail shouts back "if you did that, you wouldn't be having fun with you FRIENDS right now, would you!? You'd be inside the mansion, bored out of your mind!!"

Flandre realizes this immediately. Everything around her disappears, replaced by a dark screen. She thinks about all that has happened, and how Agava is now a friend, instead of a murderous monster.

Ail then adds "and if it wasn't for YOU, both Agava and Budou would be sealed by now."

Flandre lets out a "huh?" as she opens her eyes wide.

She thinks about all that's happened, mostly about how Agava truly changed, just to be with her. Flandre relaxes, then smiles as she looks down with a shadow over her eyes.

Ail looks on curiously, then Flandre starts to giggle.

Ail thinks "so I'll have to do this, no matter what... Somehow, I have to conserve energy. I just hope I know what I'm doing."

With a wicked smile, she lifts her head to look straight at Ail, then shouts "Rumia, do it!"

Rumia smiles widely with her eyes narrowly open, as a thick film of darkness covers the area Ail and Flandre are in, leaving 3 arc-like openings to let in enough light.

Flandre, in a very wicked tone of voice, says "I never played properly with you, Ail, so let have our fist game. Now get ready!!"

Ail sighs and says "I didn't want to have to do this, but I guess I don't have a choice."

-

Flandre giggles some more, as she hovers menacingly a few feet above the ground, then immediately unleashes an unthinkable amount of danmaku, all scattered, giving Ail very little room to dodge.

Ail sweats as he watches the bullets head his way, then thinks "here it comes."

Calmly, and looking as if he's not putting any effort, he nimbly dodges each and every singly shot with ease.

Ail thinks "wow... I wasn't really trying... I see. These boots."

He looks at the boots Nitori just gave him and thinks "these really do work. Good. I think I can conserve energy after all."

Flandre shouts "HEY, FIGHT BACK! How am I supposed to have fun if you don't fight BACK!"

She lunges at him, looking like a blur in the air.

Every time she thinks she's got him, he moves a little, avoiding her completely.

Flandre continues her assault, trying to strike Ail with her claws, but missing every time.

She starts to get frustrated and says "hey, why can't I hit you!?"

Ail smirks and says "come on, Flanny. Stop this already."

Flandre's cheeks turn red with rage, then she shouts "HEY! I told you not to CALL me that!"

Ail smiles, then bows and says "my apologies, Flanny."

Flandre's face turns even more red. Without saying a word, still smiling, however, in a very twisted manner, she summons her twisted black rod, then again, like a blur in the air, she rushes him, trying to strike him with her weapon.

Ail has a hard time dodging this time, as she swings her weapon, expanding her range of attack, every time she passes by him.

She continues her assault, giving Ail a hard time, grazing his shirt as she passes by once more.

Ail loses his balance, so Flandre immediately lunges at him, however, Ail drops on his back and uses his legs to kick Flandre upward, then tries to take her weapon away, but Flandre manages to hold on tight, causing Ail to slam her against the ground on her back.

She gets up with some tears in her eyes, clenching her teeth in pain.

She looks at him angrily and says "that hurt! I'll make you PAY for that."

Agava, who is standing next to Rumia by one of the arcs, says "she's getting mad, and he won't attack. This could get ugly, fast. Rumia, shouldn't we stop them?"

Extending her arms and smiling as she watches the fight unfold, she replies "no reason to. Just watch."

Agava crosses her arms across her chest, then continues to quietly watch.

-

Flandre tries to fight Ail at close range, swinging her claws as fast as she can, trying to strike his face and torso, but Ail manages to dodge with ease, matching the vampire's moves perfectly.

As he does this, he thinks "I'm not putting any effort here. These boots; are they enhancing my skills and reflexes as well? I'll try something..."

Flandre swings downward, thinking she's struck Ail with a smile on her face, but she quickly realizes he's behind her.

Before she can turn around, Ail pushes her, almost making her fall to the ground.

Flandre manages to stop and looks back at Ail wish shock and surprise, then says "how-how can you match my speed? That's never happened before... YOU'RE CHEATING, AREN'T YOU!?"

Ail shrugs, but doesn't answer.

Flandre giggles as she pulls out a spell card form her pocket and with a smile, she says "alright, you cheater. I can play your game, so LET'S PLAY!!!! Forbidden Barrage - Catadioptric!"

Blue extra-large danmaku orbs with medium and small orbs trailing along, start bouncing all over the small dark dome.

The space is so confined, that even with the enhancements, Ail is singed and grazed various times by the smaller orbs.

He looks around while dodging the boucing orbs and the scattered ones, then thinks "I'll have to use a little more..."

He flips, jumps, flies, twirls, missing many orbs, some passing right in front of his nose.

He finally gets in range, then flip-kicks Flandre behind her knees, making her flip and fall right on top of one of the larger orbs, which explodes on contact.

The spell cancels out, so Ail quickly steps away from Flandre, who growls as she gets up.

She glares at Ail as she slowly gets back on her feet, then, without saying another word, she pulls out another spell card, and almost screaming, she declares "TABOO!!! LAVATEIN!!!"

Her weapon turns into a long red beam-sword and immediately, she swings it from left to right, trailing various shard bullets in an arc that scatter as they fall.

Ail manages to dodge this wave with easy, but Flandre is not done, and swings from right, to left, and then, almost immediately, again, from left, to right.

She swings wildly now, however, in her loss of control, she can't generate enough bullets to cause Ail much trouble.

She growls loudly when she notices this, then tries thrusting the beam-sword at Ail, who, without effort, dodges all her attacks, again, thanks to his enhanced boots.

In her rage, Flandre foolishly raises the sword above her head and forgets about the trailing danmaku.

She watches and trembles as the shards head her way, freezing on the spot.

Her own bullets hit her hard, canceling her spell card.

Rumia asks "is it over ye~t?"

Flandre gets up and shouts "NOT YET! I'm going to break him... heh... I'll BREAK HIM!!!"

Flandre laughs maniacally as she pulls out another spell card, then frowning, she shouts "Taboo - Cranberry Trap!"

-

All around them, red and intense-blue medium danmaku orbs fly from all directions, literally trying to trap Ail in the center of the bullet concentration.

To his luck, he is able to find many gaps between her bullets, and without effort, goes right through them.

Many times, bullets are mere inches away from him, but he manages to spot them in time and move accordingly.

Flandre gets angrier and intensifies her spell. The bullets move faster, however, they have more, larger gaps in between.

Ail thinks "enough of this!"

He surrounds one of his hands in a blue barrier, then he bats a group of orbs that fly straight toward Flandre.

She dodges them just in time, sticks her tongue out, then a washtub falls on her head, canceling the spell.

Flandre floats back to the ground, holding the back of her head with both hands, then kneels low to the ground.

Kneeling, she springs her torso up, and with tears in her eyes, her face even redder with rage, and looking straight at Ail, she shouts "HEY~! What the HELL was that!?"

She looks above her and sees one of Ail's gaps closing.

She clenches her teeth, almost bearing her gums, growling with intense rage as she turns her face to Ail.

She gets up and pulls out two spell cards from her pockets, then growls "you... you are making FUN of me! I'll teach you you... you ******."

Flandre's curse echoes widely, and even fairies fly away crying.

Agava and Rumia both stare at her with their mouths wide open, and Ail looks at her with great shock and surprise, then manages to say "h-hey! Young ladies SHOULDN'T say such things!"

Flandre shouts "SHUT UP!! Just Shut up and fight properly!"

Ail thinks "I though we were playing." but doesn't say it. He just watches as she declares her spell cards.

-

Flandre stands firmly on the ground and shouts "Taboo!! Four of a Kind!!"

Flandre splits into four, and each one of her shoots a different type of bullet, in different rhythms.

Ail prepares himself to dodge, but doesn't notice one of the Flandres has the second spell card, then all four at the same time, even while shooting, shout "Forbidden Barrage - Starbow Break!"

Ail's face fills with panic, and for good reason.

Medium danmaku orbs of red, blue, yellow and green, along with the bullets from four Flandres, create a massive wall of danmaku, all heading straight at him.

Ail thinks "she's really trying to kill me. Not even Reimu could survive this... no choice..."

He pulls out a spell card, then says "no choice. Flandre, you'll be the first one to experience my newest spell. I'm sorry."

Ail plants his feet on the ground as firmly as he can, then shouts "Earth Sign - Earth Spirit Heartbeat!"

A massive concentration of green and white crystal-shaped danmaku surround Ail, forming a perfect heart that starts beating to the rhythm of his own heart.

Flandre tries to fly away, but realizes she is trapped by various vines that sprout from where Ail is standing.

To her horror, all four of her are trapped by these vines.

She keeps confident that her wall of danmaku will protect her and blast Ail, but her own bullets are consumed by Ail's, as the crystals scatter around, heading toward her, followed by large blue orbs that come from Ail's own hand and seem to go directly at her, at the same time as two pairs white lasers shoot to the sides, then move, until they aim right in front of Ail himself, creating a trap that hinders movement, however, one of the lasers strikes the real Flandre, followed by the blue orbs and some of the scattered shards.

Flandre screams in agony for what seems for her like an eternity, however, Ail had stopped his spell after only a few seconds.

Flandre falls to the ground, her body sizzling as some steam expels from her back.

Concerned, Ail, Rumia and Agava rush to her.

-

Ail drops to his knees, sliding next to Flandre, then lifts her up and places her head on his lap, calling out to her.

Rumia and Agava watch with worry, Agava asking "is she alive!?"

Ail sighs with relief and says "yes... she's alive."

Agava grabs Ail's neck with both her hand, shakes him violently, and shouts "you BRUTE, be more careful! You're going against a LADY after all!"

Rumia smacks the back of Ail's head and says "dummy!"

Flandre opens her eyes, smiles, and weakly says "big... brother. Why did you stop? I wanted to break you to pieces, but you won... you should break me."

Ail pulls Flandre closer, hugs her, and says "when will you learn, you stubborn little vampire!?"

He helps her sit on the ground, then says "I'd never do that to you, or anyone else, unless I saw no other choice."

Flandre looks to the ground, then Ail says "Flandre, stop blaming yourself for what happened. Yes, Meiling got sick, and many bad things happened, but thanks to you, Agava had a full change of heart, and now, you have two friends that play with you, AND you are allowed outside the mansion. Wouldn't you agree everything is better now?"

Flandre opens her eyes wide upon this realization, then Ail says "and I'm SURE Meiling has told you she's not mad at you at all, right?"

Flandre raises her eyes to meet Ail's, then nods.

Ail smiles, rubs her head, then says "now please, try not to scare too many villagers... ALL 3 OF YOU! Understand?"

Rumia smiles and asks "is that-?" but Agava smacks the back of Rumia's head hard, then says "not now!"

Ail chuckles, then gets back up on his feet, then says "now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business tend to."

Flandre manages to get up and ask "what are you going to do, big brother?"

Ail smirks and says "you should know by now."

Flandre quietly nods, then Ail rubs her head again, then casually walks away, waving at the three girls as he leaves.

Agava asks "so? What's he up to?"

Flandre replies "he's going to challenge big sis."

Agava gets surprised and asks "is he NUTS!? There's a full moon tonight!"

Flandre nods, then says "I don't think he'll change his mind at all... whoa."

Flandre falls to the ground. Agava and Rumia stand next to her, then Agava says "we better take you home. That last attack hit you head-on, and looked quite strong."

Flandre weakly says "he's stronger... I want to play with him again."

-

As Ail walks toward the Misty Lake, his bracelet makes a soothing whoosh sound.

When he looks at it, he notices Shou's symbol glowing orange, then he says "so THAT'S why I got so lucky... thanks Shou."

Ail looks to the red sky and notices the full moon rising.

Slowly, he lowers his arm and says "so much for luck... a full moon. Should I do this?"

He stops for a moment, and just thinks. Youkai are starting to roam about, sounding quite active, so Ail decides to fly to have a better view of his surroundings.

He looks at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, then thinks "now is not the time to chicken out. I have 5 blessings, really helpful pair boots, and the will to do this... I can't lose." then flies toward the mansion.

As the moon continues to rise, an eerie red light slowly encases itself around the moon.

Ail knows it's gonna take more than just will power to defeat Remilia now, and as he flies toward her mansion, he prepares himself for a long and heavy battle against the princess of the night, Remilia Scarlet.

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Agava, Budou, Phredia and Ail's spell cards were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by snapshot 2010

OCT 24 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N: "The Will of Fire" on Rika's ribbon means - the will to never give up and do what is needed to improve on one's self. And with that, here's the next OC description:**

Agava (Shadow Demon)

Having had a change of heart after just one day of play with Flandre Scarlet, she convinces Rumia to unleash some of her power (Rumia releases 12% more, giving her a total of 14% of ther full power). Now, she spends most of her time with Rumia and Flandre, playing pranks on humans and other youkai, instead of plotting to kill Reimu... or anyone else. Has developed a bond with Flandre.

She looks like a 14 year old girl now. She wears her wavy black hair in a ponytail, and even so, it reaches her waist. She is pale skinned, has dark blue eyes that shine when it's dark, and wears a tight black or dark-purple ninja uniform that has no sleeves and covers only down to her thighs, and on top of that, she wears a blue jacket, and a tattered pair of greyish-blue shorts. Also wears knee-high black boots and around her neck, on a black strap, a sphere-shaped red crystal with a star design in it's center (her power amplifyer). It apmlifyes her power to up to 18% of her full power.


	6. Chapter 5

The full moon rises from the east, turning more red as it continues to rise in the skies.

Eirin, Kaguya, Reisen, carrying the unconscious Tewi, and Rika, walk hurriedly toward Entei.

Rika asks "Please, can someone tell me what's the matter? Why do we have to hurry..? I want to look at the Moon. It's so beautiful!"

Rika stops to admire the moon, but Eirin pulls her hand and says "Rika, please trust us. It's very dangerous to be outside at nights like these. The mansion's not far. I'll explain more there, but now we must hurry."

To their left, some of the bamboo shoots rattle violently. Eirin points her bow and arrow at that direction, signaling Rika with her head to continue walking.

A sudden roar, followed by a loud squeal, and then sounds of flesh being torn and consumed.

Kaguya shouts "Eirin!" then everyone starts running, Rika following their lead, until they all reach the Entei mansion.

Kaguya says "phew! Last time I stayed outside on a night like this, I died five times, remember Eirin? Oh, my clothes got so messy."

Kaguya is about to open the door, when Eirin points her arrow toward it and shouts "PRINCESS!!" then gestures her weapon to the left.

Kaguya silently nods, then backs away from the door.

The door begins to rattle on it's own, causing tension to rise, and even Tewi, who wakes up just now, senses danger, and immediately crawls to Reisen's back, using her hair to hide under.

Rika stands next to Eirin, getting ready for a fight.

Eirin says "please, just say back." Rika replies "I want to help, to make amends for the trouble I caused earlier."

Eirin smiles, then silently nods. The door rattles more violently, then stops.

Eirin and Rika continue to stare at the door, then, with a loud bang, the door bursts open and Yukari, with half her body inside her gap, bursts out with her hands in the air and shouts "YOU FOUND ME~~!"

Eirin fires her arrow, turning it into a red beam that strikes Yukari right on her chest, making her scream in pain, then drop down, leaving her body hang limp while still in her gap.

Rika says "oh... miss Yukari!" Eirin says "oh great... it's her." Rika shouts "oh no~! She's dead! You killed miss Yukari."

Eirin calmly says "relax. She's just fine."

Yukari springs up, gets out of her gap, gets close to Eirin, and angrily shouts "hey, that HURT, you hag!"

Eirin smiles dangerously and in a sweet tone of voice she says "my, this ancient wrinkled woman dares call me a hag, how amusing."

Yukari says "ancient!? I'll have you know, I am 19 years old!"

Eirin smiles and says "oh, and you dare call me old? I'm 17 years old."

Yukari shouts "I'm 15" Eirin replies "well I'm 13."

Yukari shouts "Oh YEAH!?"

Kaguya, Reisen and Rika watch the childish battle, looking at the quarreling women with disbelief and disappointment, while Tewi just rolls on the ground, laughing herself to tears.

-

After calming down and getting safely inside the Entei Mansion, Reisen prepares some tea, sets it on the table, along with some rice cookies, but before Rika joins in, she asks "miss Yukari, how could you do that to me? And on such a dangerous night like tonight!"

Yukari smiles, takes a sip of tea, then says "this place is not for the feint of heart. If you want to live here, you have to prepare yourself for everything. Anything can happen, be it something good, or something bad."

Rika stars at Yukari and angrily says "I understand what you are saying, but you left me defenseless out there! What if something happened to me?"

Yukari says "fu, fu, fu~! Darling, you're not defenseless. You'd had your spell card with you all the time in your right pocket."

Rika whispers to herself "spell... card?"

She rummages through her pocket and finds it, right where Yukari said it was. When she looks at it, she sees an image of a yin-yang orb, however, there are chains on it.

Yukari looks at it and says "oh my... it's sealed? I wonder why is that?"

Rika stares at Yukari for some time, then, before she asks, Yukari says "spell cards is what we use here to show our strength and power, without going overboard. Without them, we couldn't use any spells at all, however, you shouldn't rely on them all the time, deary. Now, as to why your spell card is sealed like that... I'm afraid I am not sure myself."

Rika turns her attention to her spell card and thinks "Oath Keeper?"

Yukari asks "something wrong?"

Rika turns her attention back to Yukari, then says "no, it's nothing."

Yukari covers her mouth upon opening her fan, then silently smiles.

Eirin says "well, it's too dangerous to go out tonight, so, miss Rika, you may stay here if you like."

Rika bows, almost striking the table with her forehead, then says "oh, please, I don't want to be a bother."

Eirin smiles and says "you won't be a bother. Besides, it looks like you have nowhere else to go, unless this youkai has an idea?"

Yukari looks away, pretending not to hear anything.

Rika then says "well... I guess you're right."

Eirin smiles and says "great! If you need anything..."

Eirin smiles in such a wickedly evil fashion as she looks at Tewi, that it makes the entire room tremble in fear, then continues saying in a dangerous undertone "...ask little miss TEWI. She will help you, as payback for tricking you like that... got it!?"

Tewi gulps and nods, then Rika calmly says "alright. Thank you very much for your hospitality."

Eirin smiles casually, and says "no need for thanks. It's the least Tewi can do for you."

Rika giggles and smiles angelically. Everyone, except for Yukari, seem to hide their eyes under their hair as they stare at Rika's smile, then all of them start bleeding through their noses.

Rika panics and asks "oh my! A-are you alright!? What happened?"

Only Eirin answers after wiping her nose, her eyes still hidden under he hair as she says "it's nothing, sweetie. It's nothing."

-

At the Scarlet Devil Mansion's gates, Ail greets Meiling, whose shift is just about done.

"Meiling, how are you?"

Meiling opens her eyes widely, then excitedly, she says "Ail! You're back! I'm so glad to see you're safe!"

Ail smiles and says "I'm glad to see you too."

For a moment, they stand there, just smiling at each other, then Meiling asks "what's the matter... aren't you coming in?"

Ail scratches his cheek and says "well... you see... I've come to challenge your mistress, and... Well I don't want to get you in trouble, so..."

Meiling smiles, then says "I won't get in trouble... my shift is over now. You came in after I left. See you later."

With a smile on her face, Meiling enters and closes the gate, then quickly enters the mansion.

Ail waits for a bit before jumping over the gate, then quietly following inside.

Once inside, he hears Patchouli arguing with someone.

"But you can't think things so logically. If you do, you'll just continue to fail."

A familiar voice answers "I... I just can't think like that, Patchouli. I need to know how, and why it works like that."

Patchouli growls, then says "look, it's too dangerous for you to go back to the shrine, so you can stay here. Maybe I can help explain some more, but right now, I am hungry, and I'm sure you are too."

The footsteps get closer, so Ail presses himself against a wall, hoping that his presence will go unnoticed, but to his surprise, his boots start glowing blue for a moment, then he turns completely invisible.

He thinks "thank you, Nitori!"

Soon after he turns invisible, Remilia passes by him, looking quite content alongside Sakuya, then Meiling comes from behind them, then, from the basement stairs come Patchouli and Koakuma, accompanied by Renko, to Ail's surprise.

Ail thinks "so, Renko wants to learn something here, huh? Wonder what it is? To think she and Patchy couldn't see eye-to-eye just a few weeks ago."

Ail continues to sit against the wall for about an hour or two, then everyone comes out of the dinning room, all headed back the way they came.

Remilia stops in front of where Ail is hiding.

Sakuya asks "my lady, is something wrong?"

Remilia smiles as she glances at Ail. Ail knows she sees him as clearly as he can see her, then nods.

Remilia says "Sakuya, Meiling. Come with me to the tower, please."

She turns to Ail, then says "I'll wait for you there." then winks.

Both Meiling and Sakuya look at their mistress confused, but follow her regardless, Sakuya asking "my lady, what is this all of a sudden?"

After they are gone, Ail gets up, then gets shocked by his own boots, as the the invisibility feature turns itself off, probably becoming useless in the process.

Ail blows out a bit of smoke from his mouth and whispers in an angry undertone "Nitori~!"

-

Ail reaches the clock tower without delay, and upon opening the door, he sees Remilia standing at the very top of the tower itself, expanding her arms toward the sky as she looks up at the red full moon.

As if sitting on the air, to her left is Meiling, and as elegant as ever, to her right, is Sakuya, and both immediately turn their attention to Ail.

Still facing the moon, Remilia says "Anilan, I am so glad to see you again. You've been gone for some times... 3 weeks? A little more, a little less?"

Ail bows and says "I am glad to see you too, lady Remilia."

Remilia replies "I see you've picked up some manners. Now tell me, are you sure you want to challenge me during such a beautiful red moon like this?"

Ail thinks "she already knows. Alright, this saves some explaining."

Ail stands firm and says "yes. I truly wish to do this."

Remilia spins in place, stopping when facing toward Ail with a content smile on her face, then says "what are the conditions?"

Ail says "same as the first time we fought."

Remilia's content smile turns twisted and wicked, then she says "I see. Tell me something. Are you not satisfied from last time? Perhaps you think I LET you win? Or is it, perhaps, something else?"

Ail bows his head and says "please forgive my insolence in asking this, but didn't you hold back last time?"

Remilia slowly glides down from the tower as she says "yes, I did, but do not mistake THAT as letting you win. I was aiming to defeat you without killing you, and you beat me, never-the-less."

Ail says "at first, out of my own arrogance, I though you were disrespecting me, demeaning me, thinking I am weak."

Ail places his left hand on his chest, making the tip of his fingers glow bright white, then says "but after thinking for some time, I feel the one being disrespectful, is me... thinking I am all that because I defeated you last time."

Remilia's smile vanishes as she looks neutrally at Ail.

Ail says "fight me at your full power, lady Remilia. Allow me to prove to you and myself that last time my victory was no fluke."

Remilia continues to look into Ail's eyes and says "understood. I will not hold back. Sakuya, Meiling!"

Both Meiling and Sakuya float farther away.

Remilia says "I have asked them to act as witnesses to this battle, knowing they are dear friends to both of us. I also asked Patchouli to stay inside at all times."

Ail nods and says "I understand, and agree. She wouldn't like this one bit."

Remilia smirks, then Raises her hands and says "five spell cards each. The conditions, if I win, you become a servant to me and MY servants... if YOU win, you'll have unrestricted access to the mansion at any time. Agreed?"

Ail bows his body, then stances ready for the fight.

Remilia continues to smirk as she raises her hand above her head, unleashing a small, but intense red energy orb, then, as soon as she releases it, she shouts "BEGIN!"

-

In a flash, Remilia sends the red energy toward Ail, turning into a small lance while in the air.

It goes so fast, Ail is unable to see it at all, but to his luck, she misses him by inches.

Ail sweats a lot after realizing he didn't even see that attack, but composes himself, stances ready, then realizes Remilia is nowhere in sight.

He looks around and thinks "where is she? Is she invisible... no.."

A sudden blur catches his eyes, then he thinks "she's moving fast. Faster than I can follow... Calm down Ail. Take a deep breath... you can do this. Focus!!"

He closes his eyes and hears Remilia's wings flapping all around.

Remilia smirks after Ail closes his eyes, then swoops in to attack, but Ail reacts just in time, grabs Remilia by her hands and pushes her away, causing himself to spin for a moment, so he uses the momentum to fire a pair of white lasers at her after stopping.

The momentum allow his lasers to fly fast enough to graze Remilia, who is able to react at the very last second, and avoids being hit directly.

Remilia smiles and says "impressive, but can you keep this up for long?"

Ail smiles back and says "I was just about to ask that same question."

Remilia drops her smile and says "tch. You're getting cocky. Let's take care of that."

Remilia unleashes a barrage of those small lances straight at Ail.

Using a barrier, he manages to escape the barrage, then shoots various small orbs at Remilia.

She dodges those orbs as if it were child's play, then unleashes 5 more lances, then swoops toward Ail, along with the lances.

Before Ail is able to react, three of those lances strike his shoulders, and before he is able to recover, he is struck hard by Remilia's head, and is sent flying hard toward the large clock tower, his back breaking open a large hole on the wall.

Remilia quickly pulls out a spell card and shouts "Devil Sign - World in Nightmare!"

Remilia turns into a bat, just as Ail gets up, holding his back in pain, then starts shooting speedy red knives and slow-moving red orbs all around her.

The knives move in a straight line, surrounding Remilia, and moving toward where Ail is.

He yelps when he see's the speedy red knives moving toward him, so he starts to fly away from them as fast as he can, also avoiding the large red orbs that come from the center of the attack.

He tries to fight back, but Remilia's bat form is impossible to hit.

She laughs as Ail notices this particular detail, but then Ail pulls out his own spell card and shouts "Light Sign - Holy Dance!"

As a large round barrier of light safely encases Ail within it, 8 lasers spread and trap Remilia within two of them, just as Remilia turns back into her vampire form.

Remilia continues her attack, but tries to find a way out, however, the lasers prevent her from even going upward as they move left, right, up and down, so she intensifies her attack, hoping to break that barrier and cancel Ail's spell.

From the barrier, trios of white orbs are expelled, all forming small triangles, as they head toward Remilia, who is barely able to dodge the assault.

Roughly 20 seconds pass and neither show signs of slowing down.

Remilia intensifies her spell, making her knives move faster and the orbs hit harder.

Ail's spell now adds light-blue petals in straight lines going along-side the lasers.

Meiling and Sakuya look at each other, then Meiling asks "should we stop them?"

Sakuya replies "we'd be the targets if we did that."

Just after saying that, a blinding flash lights up the entire lake, as both spell cards defeat each other at the same time.

The explosions cause the floor below to break, causing both Ail and Remilia to fall inside the main hall.

-

Ail gets up, looking a bit surprised at Remilia.

He turns his attention to the collapsed roof and says "Wow... did we just do that?"

Remilia spring up, using her hands, landing on her feet, then shouts "AAAHHHH MY ROOF!!!"

She clenches her teeth and turns toward Ail as her face turns red and her left eye starts twitching.

She points at him and says "you're gonna pay for that!"

Ail sweats and waves his hands as he says "alright, alright. We got a fight going on now."

Remilia smiles again as she prepares herself for melee battle, then says "right. After you're my slave, I'll make you rebuild the entire roof by yourself."

Ail prepares himself as well with a smile on his face, then says "first you'll have to beat me, lady Remilia."

Ail takes the offensive and rushes to Remilia, trying a kick behind her knees, but Remilia jumps out of the way just in time and swipes her claws at Ail's shoulder, leaving three cuts.

Ail quickly backs away, then uses his barrier and turns it into a hammer which he swings straight at Remilia.

She stops the hammer from falling with her two hands, then pushes it back, but before being able to recover, Ail is right in front of her and blasts her with two focused exploding orbs that send her flying against her chair, then he pulls out a spell card and shouts "Brightness - Overwhelming Heart!"

Large bright white rings expel from Ail's heart and expand along with large white orbs trailing along, scattering aimlessly after reaching 5 feet of distance.

The rings also start moving around unevenly between each other, making them harder to avoid.

Remilia stands firmly on her feet, waiting for the rings to be close enough, then pulls a spell card from her pocket and shouts "Divine Spear - Spear of the Gungnir!"

Remilia cuts her forearm and uses the blood to create a large spear then tosses it at Ail.

Both spells clash, and for a moment, it seems Ail's rings are strong enough to push Remilia's spear back, but Remilia tosses three more, as quickly as she can, then breaks through Ail's rings and strikes him directly, sending him flying back against the door and sliding down to the floor.

She smiles and thinks "this was way~ too easy" then prepares another spear, quickly launching it toward Ail.

Just before the lance hits, Remilia sees a blur heading left, then moving behind her, but before she can react, Ail spin-kicks her back and sends her spinning in the air, flying straight toward the wall just above the door.

Remilia, still stuck to the wall, rubs her head and looks on as Ail, who's leg is still in the air, spins in place, screaming "someone STOP ME~!"

He continues to spin faster and faster, looking like a small tornado in the room, then his boot blows black smoke, and slowly, he stops spinning.

After the spinning stops, his eyes spinning in place and smiling quite silly, Ail tries to keep himself from falling down, stumbling aimlessly and speaking gibberish.

Remilia, after popping herself off the wall, casually walks to him, grabs his shoulders, then slaps him on the face.

Ail manages to return to normal, then says "thanks."

Remilia smiles and says "you can thank me by NOT HOLDING BACK! Now come on!!"

-

Inside Patchouli's library, Renko, Koakuma and Patchouli feel the tremors from the battle.

Patchouli gets up and angrily says "rawr! How can we READ with all this NOISE!? I'm going up there. I don't CARE what she said to me!"

Renko asks "want me to come?"

Patchouli turns to her, placing her hand in front of her, signaling Renko to stop, then says "no, you continue your studies. Koakuma will help you if she can. I won't be long."

Patchouli turns around and hovers toward the exit as she says "and please, if you see Marisa, DON'T confront her. She's too much for you, so let her take anything she wants!"

Renko gulps and lowers her head a little.

Koakuma walks closer to Renko, just as Patchouli slams the doors shut, then places her hand on Renko's shoulder and says "please, don't think ill of her. It seems she worries for you."

Renko says "I know, I know. But sometimes I feel she's demeaning me. She should be a little more sensitive."

Koakuma sighs and says "she's who she is, miss Usami."

Renko sighs angrily, and buries her face inside the book she was reading before, then says "fine... err, Koakuma, could you tell me what's this symbol for?"

Koakuma smiles and says "certainly."

The two stay studying symbols and magic spells, while Patchouli, unwisely goes and investigate the battle noises from above.

-

At the main hall, Remilia continues to move around Ail with great speed, making it hard for him to follow, but he is able to block the attacks just as Remilia gets close.

Ail thinks "I can't keep this up. If this goes on, she'll eventually get me."

Remilia, while moving around, thinks "I got him on the ropes. Now all I need to do is tire him out, and win this."

Ail's senses are getting accustomed to Remilia's speed, making it easier for him to follow, and just as he launches at her, Remilia launches at him, both holding energy orbs in their hands, and when they are inches away from each other, they stop and look to their right.

Their eyes widely open and their pupils shrinking to the size of marbles.

A large lump on the small carpet moves on it's own toward the door. Even Meiling and Sakuya, who are still on the broken roof, witnessing the fight, look on in surprise.

At the end of the carpet, out comes Yuki, who immediately realizes her cover is blown, springs up to her feet, rubs the back of her head with her right hand, and nervously smiles and chuckles.

She looks at Ail and Remilia, then says "er, I am not here... you can't see me. It's a spell. Yes... you THINK you can see me, but you can't."

A pile of books drop from under her skirt on to her feet.

She smiles widely, sweating and trembling a little, then starts to wave her hands in front of herself and says "I am not here~!" then manages to slowly slither back under the carpet.

Sakuya, looking annoyed, rolls the carpet along with Yuki in it and says "this carpet needs cleaning. I'll be back in a second."

She places the carpet on her shoulder, then vanishes in an instant, then comes back almost 2 seconds later, places the carpet back in it's place, elegantly bows, placing her right arm on her abdomen as she says "all clean, my lady." then flies back up to the broken roof.

Remilia face-palms hard and says "if these interruptions keep up, we'll never finish this."

Ail nods and says "I agree. I guess we better stop playing around then, agreed?"

Remilia smiles and pulls out a spell card from her pocket, then says "agreed."

Ail smiles back and pulls out another spell card, then stares at Remilia.

Just outside the mansion's gates, Yuki lies on the floor with her entire back and butt covered in daggers.

She lifts up her head, crying streams of tears from both eyes and whimpers "uuu~ pincushion."

-

Remilia releases her spell card as it glows red and floats in front of her, then she shouts "Scarlet Bat - Vampirish Night!"

After Remilia declares her spell card, Sakuya says to Meiling "she needs to change those names, don't you think?"

Meiling quietly nods with a smile on her face, then both receive a red dagger on the shoulder just as Remilia shouts "I HEARD THAT!"

Ail gets surrounded by various bats that shoot red daggers at him, surrounding him in daggers that come from all directions.

Ail tries to declare his spell card, but the number of daggers is overwhelming.

Remilia laughs and asks "what's the matter? Too much for you?"

Ail looks around, then spots an opening just above Remilia, so he rushes above her, getting stabbed on the left shoulder, then manages to declare his spell.

"Light Sign - Within the Jewel's Core"

7 blue and white stars with 8 sharp edges materialize around Ail, then each tip scatters at the speed of light, all trailing sharp blue spikes that scatter in straight lines of 5, and homing white petals.

Remilia moves around as much as she can, but the number of danmaku from Ail's attack overwhelms her, however she continues her assault, but realizes the daggers aren't even touching Ail at all.

She looks on surprised and says "tch, invulnerability, huh?"

Ail smiles at her and says "more or less."

Remilia continues to dodge what she can, then Ail, after 10 seconds of activating his spell, starts dodging the daggers as best he can, getting grazed by around legs.

As both fighters concentrate on each other, the doors to the main hall open up, Patchouli shouting angrily "Remi, what's going on... here?"

Patchouli opens her eyes widely, the pupil shrinks, then she begins to tremble.

She whispers "no... stop this..."

She lifts her trembling arm and points at them with her finger, then shouts "STOP IT, you two!"

She coughs violently, losing her concentration, but she composes herself and tries once more, but Meiling gets behind her and wraps her arms around Patchouli's shoulders.

Patchouli struggles and says "Meiling, let me GO! I have to stop them!"

Meiling calmly says "mistress' orders. Nobody's allowed to interfere."

Patchouli starts crying as she commands "Meiling, I ORDER YOU to let me go!"

Meiling sighs and says "please forgive me, and just watch, lady Patchouli."

Patchouli stops struggling, having some trouble breathing as she cries, then angrily whispers "idiots."

Remilia and Ail are covered in cuts and bruises all over. The right side of Remilia's face is covered in blood, and Ail's left and right arms are full of cuts and burns, bleeding through the cuts on his shoulder.

Remilia's spell times out, so she starts moving around freely, trying to avoid Ail's spell, but she is struck various times by the scattered spikes, getting stabbed on the back and arms by 3 or 4 of the spikes in the groups.

Ail's spell card times out just as the homing white petals are about to strike her, and immediately, Ail and Remilia start moving around the room at amazing speeds.

Sakuya, Meiling and Patchouli are having a very hard time trying to follow them, and all they can hear is the reaction of energies every time the battlers clash against each other.

-

Remilia and Ail continue their high-speed melee battle, Remilia using her claws for both offense and defense, trying to strike Ail and blocking his attacks, while Ail covers his arms in a barrier and blocks Remilia's claws and tries to strike her directly.

Both rush to each other at amazing speed, then both strike hard against each other, clashing their right arms, causing an energy wave that turns off all the lights in the room, leaving only the eerie light of the red moon to light the room.

Afterward, Remilia backs away to where her chair was, and Ail stands on the carpet where Yuki was hiding under.

Remilia takes a few breaths, then sighs and says "you sure have improved a lot from last time."

Ail bows and says "thanks. In all honestly, these boots of mine are enhancing my abilities a little."

Remilia says "good. It's been some time since I got a good sport... other than Reimu, that is."

Remilia takes out another spell card form her pocket and says "before we continue, I have a question for you."

Ail nods and says "please, ask away, lady Remilia."

Remilia smiles, closing her eyes and looking down on to the floor, then raises her head, looking neutrally at Ail, and asks "why is it that I can't seem to change your fate? You see, I can see where your fate lies, and I can change it, and although I do not have total control over this, it's almost impossible for me to even see yours. Tell me, how this even possible?"

Ail closes his eyes as he pulls a spell card from his pocket, then says "it's because I love going against fate. I use my entire will for this. If fate wants me to die, I will go against it and live on. That's just one example."

Remilia smiles and says "I see. I am quite impressed. It even seems to me that you've been doing this long before learning you're half-youkai."

Ail nods, then Remilia says "alright then. I'll let you know right now, you current fate is to become my servant and stand by my side for ages to come. Can you change this? Can you use that will of yours and prevent this from happening?"

Ail bows and smiles, then says "I already felt this and am currently doing all I can to go against it."

Remilia smiles wickedly and says "good. Then come at me, and show me this will of yours. I wish to experience it's full power!!"

-

Remilia and Ail declare their spell cards at the same time, both cards floating just above their heads, Remilia's glowing scarlet, while Ail's glows blue.

"God Devil - Remilia Stoker" "Mad Waves - Raging Waves"

After the declaration, Sakuya, who continues to sit on the broken roof, Meiling, and Patchouli, who stand in the hall, watching the fight, all think "those names are just laughable."

Remilia unleashes 25 red lasers all around her, trapping Ail between two of them as she unleashes a wall of red knifes that scatter all over, coming non-stop toward Ail.

Ail shoots 6 pairs of 8 extra-large orbs in straight lines.

To his right, and left, two of those lines stand vertically, while the last two position themselves horizontally under Ail, then from the orbs a wall of blue crystals scatter quickly toward Remilia, clashing against Remilia's knives.

Afterward, the orbs spread as they fly toward her, followed by waves of water that release even more blue scattered crystals.

The orbs and waves open a path for the crystals, and although Remilia tries to release enough daggers in time, various of the crystals reach her, all exploding violently on contact.

Remilia shouts in pain, but continues her attack, regardless. Ail also continues his attack, both of them repeating the spell patterns, getting faster each time.

By the 4th strike, Remilia's had enough and her spell cancels out, while Ail's times out just then.

Remilia pants and says "water... it's so annoying!"

Ail asks "should we stop?"

Remilia smiles, then gets up on her feet and says "we still have ONE more spell card."

Ail smiles back and says "wouldn't have it any other way, lady Remilia."

She smiles wickedly at Ail, then he smirks back, and both become a blur to the others once more, as they move as fast as possible, trying to strike each other with either high-speed melee tactic, or quick danmaku play.

Orbs, lasers, knives, daggers and shock-wave after shock-wave is all the three witnesses can see.

Remilia and Ail stop for a moment, then shoot various orbs at each other, both covering their faces with their forearms as the barrage strikes, then rush at each other very quickly, locking each others hands, pushing against one-another.

Remilia asks "why aren't you using those gaps of yours?"

Ail replies "want this to be as fair as possible."

Remilia smiles and says "you are certainly a rare breed. That's very commendable of you."

Ail smiles, but a sudden pressure against his fingers makes him shout in pain.

Remilia squeezes his hands tightly, then lets go of his right hand, lifts him up in the air by his left, spins him around very violently, then flings him against the corner.

The impact makes the whole floor rattle, the wall crack, and a large chunk of roof to weaken.

Ail is dizzy and unable to recover in time.

Remilia smiles and says "I'll do this quickly!"

Remilia launches at him as he is unable to move, bearing her fangs and claws, ready to strike hard, but to Ail's luck, the large chunk of roof falls a few inches away from him, blocking Remilia, who yelps just before crashing against the chunk of rock, cracking it and turning it to pieces in the process.

Remilia stumbles in a circle with her eyes spinning, trying to speak, but saying gibberish, then sits on the ground a few feet away form Ail.

-

Sakuya feels a great urge to go and aid her mistress, but if she did that right now, Remilia would never forgive her.

Patchouli takes the away a book she was using to avoid seeing Remilia's impact from her face, looks at the dazed battlers, then says to Meiling "see? This is why I wanted to stop them. They're gonna end up hurt, or DEAD!"

Meiling sighs and says "Mistress Remilia gave us strict order, lady Patchouli. You know we can't go against her orders."

Patchouli sighs and says "I know... I know. I'm sorry."

After some time passes, Ail and Remilia recover from the daze, then Ail says "whoa... that was fun.... let's do it again!"

Remilia angrily shouts "NO! That HURT! Let's just get on with this!"

Ail nods and says "right. Have at you!"

Immediately, Ail unleashes his focused orange energy orbs that explode on contact.

Remilia quickly moves away, avoiding both the orb and it's blast, then fires a small lance toward Ail, who uses the walls to bounce himself away from it, just as it strikes where he was just standing.

Remilia tries to surprise him by standing right where he's about to land, and trying to claw him as hard as she can, but Ail manages to get an impulse and arc just above Remilia's attack range.

Remilia smirks and pulls out one more spell card, then Ail stands firmly on the ground and pulls out his last one as well.

Remilia says "we do this at the same time. Whichever cancels out first loses. Agreed?"

Ail nods and says "agreed."

They declare their spell cards at the same time, both cards glowing, Remilia's floating next to her, glowing scarlet, while Ail holds his on his hand as it glows white and green.

"Scarlet Gensokyo"

"Earth Sign - Earth Spirit Heartbeat"

Remilia blasts blue extra-large orbs in arcs that release a wall of red orbs that, for a moment, stay floating in mid air, but very suddenly start moving around at a fast pace.

At the same time, Ail unleashes a massive amount of white and green crystals that shape a heart around him, momentarily protecting him from Remilia's fast bullet barrage.

The crystals scatter, beating at the rhythm of Ail's heart, then Ail shoots various blue orbs from his hands straight at Remilia, at the same time as he unleashes the two pair of white lasers that encase Remilia between them, however, since he's not directly on the ground, no vines come to help.

They both continue their assault on each other, Remilia unleashing that heavy barrage of red orbs, and Ail unleashing that equally heavy barrage of crystals, however, Remilia is getting tired, as Ail continues to assault her with his homing blue orbs as well.

Ail notices Remilia is getting tired, so he decides to move a little, making his laser strike her at the same time as the barrage of crystals and blue orbs.

Remilia screams as her spell cancels out, then falls down to the floor quite hard, her body expelling some steam.

Sakuya immediately shouts "It's over! Ail wins!"

Immediately, Ail stops shooting, then takes a deep breath and sits down hard on the floor, closing his eyes.

Patchouli, Meiling and Sakuya rush inside.

-

Neither Ail or Remilia move at all, both have their eyes closed.

Patchouli's heart starts beating fast, as a cold fear takes over her.

Sakuya places her hand on Patchouli's shoulder and says "relax, they are fine. Just exhausted themselves."

Ail smiles and opens his eyes, then says "that was one hard battle."

Remilia sits up as if nothing had happened to her and says "bah! You just got lucky. You were mine back there!"

Ail jokingly says "dream on~!"

Both start laughing, then Patchouli gets angry, her face turning red when she screams "that's not funny! You two could have been killed. What where you thinking!? And look at the roof, it's a mess. This entire room... There's blood everywhere! How are we going to *cough cough*"

Patchouli starts coughing violently, then drops on the floor too.

Meiling says "take it easy, lady Patchouli. They are alive and well. Isn't that good enough?"

Patchouli stops coughing, then thinks for a moment and smiles as Meiling helps her back up, then says "yeah... I guess so."

She lets her arm hang limp in the air as Meiling continues to hold her, then Meiling says "miss Sakuya.."

Sakuya replies before Meiling says anything else "yes please. And make sure to cover her up well. It's chilly tonight."

Meiling smiles and nods, then in a motherly tone, says "come on, lady Patchouli. Let's go to your room."

Patchouli continues to smile with her eyes narrowly open, walking beside Meiling as she helps her to her room, then weakly says "please... take me downstairs before. I need to check up on Renko."

Meiling giggles as she grabs Patchouli and carries her out the room and says "alright. But then you're going to bed, alright?"

Sakuya stares at them as they leave through the door and thinks "what's with this mother-child atmosphere?"

Ail and Remilia get back up, then they walk toward each other, shake hands, and Remilia smiles as she says "well, I guess you won. You may continue to visit the mansion as you have all this time. Feel proud of yourself. Your powers, along with some 'luck', have earned you victory. This proves your last victory was no fluke... my friend."

Ail smiles, narrowing his eyes, and says "glad to hear that... Remi."

Remilia lets go of his hand, then places both hands on her waist and says "however, I will still be expecting payment for the damaged roof."

Ail scratches his left cheek, smiling embarrassed, then says "heh heh heh, I guess I don't have a choice there, huh?"

Remilia frowns and says "I wasn't kidding when I said you had to pay for that."

Ail bows with a smile and says "that's fine. I'll even lend a hand whenever I can."

From behind him, Ail feels as though he's being run over by a bull as he flies toward the ground, landing hard on his face.

Remilia casually says "ah, Flandre. Thanks for not interfering with out fight."

Ail grumbles in pain "hi... Flan... chan."

Flandre hugs Ail for some time, rubbing her cheek on his back, then gets back up and says "I am so glad you won, because if you didn't, I'd have to kick your butt."

Remilia looks confused and asks "what do you mean?"

Flandre, with an innocent and angelical smile on her face says "well, big brother and I had a battle earlier, and he beat me, and if you had beaten him, then that mean he's not stronger, but I am weaker, and then I'd be REALLY mad. *giggle*"

As Sakuya and various fairy maids begin to clean and rebuild the room, Remilia looks surprised at Flandre, then at Ail, who is still on the floor, unable to get up, then grabs him by his shirt and shouts "HEY, you didn't tell me you fought my sister before!"

Ail's head fall limp as his eyes spin and a silly smile covers his face.

Remilia looks at him a little worried, then says "er, Sakuya... please prepare one of the guest rooms. Seems mister Anilan will be staying the night."

Flandre looks innocently as she asks "Onee-sama, what's wrong with him?"

Remilia lets go of Ail, letting him drop to the floor, then grabs Flandre and give her a big hug as two fairy maids grab Ail's legs and drag him out to the hall, then says "Flan... it's been so long since you called me that."

Flandre giggles, then smiles innocently, tilting her head a little to the left and says "well I didn't feel like it."

-

Down at the library, Meiling carries Patchouli to Renko and Koakuma, who panic and spring up from their chairs, knocking them down, then Patchouli lets her head drop down, looking neutrally at the girls, then says "don't worry. It's only my asthma. I'll be fine in the morning. Just wanted to tell you that Ail will be escorting you back to the shrine in the morning."

Renko nods quietly, then picks up both chairs as Patchouli addresses to Koakuma.

"Koa, please go to the main hall and recover the books the black and white one tried to steal."

Koakuma looks confused and says "but... we haven't seen Marisa at all, right miss Renko?"

Renko nods and says "it's been pretty calm in here."

Patchouli calmly says "oddly enough, this time it wasn't Marisa. Well, please, get to it."

Koakuma flaps the wings on her head as she salutes Patchouli while saying "right away, lady Patchouli" then quickly flies toward the library's exit.

Meiling says "well, is that all miss Patchouli?"

Patchouli nods, then Meiling says "then off to bed you go."

As she gets carried away by Meiling, Patchouli adds "oh, miss Renko, please ask Koakuma to take you to one of the guest rooms when you get tired, alright?"

Renko quietly nods and watches as Meiling carries Patchouli, then hears the door closing shut, sits back down, opens a book, and after a long and loud sighs, she says "I'll never be able to do this."

-

At Entei, Rika is unable to sleep, so she exits the room she's sharing with Reisen, then heads to the living room and sits there, looking out the window, admiring the countless stars in the sky.

She sighs and thinks "this is going to be a very interesting place to live in. The people here have such amazing powers and abilities... I hope I can serve my new master well enough. First I have to meet her, though."

Rika takes out her spell card from her pocket and stares at it while thinking "this spell card... With it I could use spells and powers to defend myself. But this one is sealed... I wonder why?"

From behind comes Tewi, wearing a collar with a chain attached to it and says "thanks for not pulling on the chain."

Rika gets startled and hides her spell card immediately, then turns to Tewi and smiles, then says "miss Tewi. Did I wake you up? I'm sorry."

Tewi sweats and thinks "is this girl for real?"

Rika says to her "please, don't bother yourself for me. I know that miss Eirin said you had to serve me, but I don't want to be a bother."

Tewi stares at her in disbelief, then says "even after all i did to you?"

Rika says "that was a pretty mean trick, but... it was harmless, so I forgive you."

For a moment, an image of Reisen fills Tewi's mind, but she just ignores it.

Rika then continues "tomorrow I get to meet my master. I hope I can serve her well."

Tewi gets closer, then says "you are too kind... are you an angel?"

Rika lets Tewi sit beside her, then start brushing the rabbit's hair with her fingers, then says "no, I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

Rika looks at Tewi and notices she's fallen asleep, so she quietly smiles and continues to stare at the stars through the windows, letting the rabbit sleep against her shoulder through the rest of the night.

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Ail's spell cards were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by snapshot2010

OCT 27 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N: Nice battle, huh? Had some trouble describing some of the things happening in there, but after reading it for the 5th time, I think I can out quite alright. And without further a-do, the next OC description:**

Luna Rivers (real name Katalina)

Having attempted to brutally murder Sakuya, Reimu entrusts Aya to help Luna change her ways. Now she is quite friendly and no longer kills unless to the outmost of need. Aya also teaches her about danmaku play and how to fly using the wind, however, her flight only lasts for an hour and only inside Gensokyo. She is highly skilled with her gunblades, and although more humble, she still has a bit of an attitude. Forms a bond with Medicine and a friendship with Aya. She and Sakuya seem to have a long history, and Sakuya knows Luna's real name, however, their only bond is their rivalry, although that all ends with one final battle, and now share a casual friendship.

Has silver hair with red highlights and ties it into a ponytail with a small green ribbon and wears two black thin pins on both sides of her head. Each is a powerful flash bomb. She has silver eyes and on her right cheek, she has a small birth mark that looks like a small star. She wears a very simple dark-blue dress, and tight white stretchy pants underneath and around her waist she wears a brown belt that holds two short gun-blades at the sides. On her right hand she wears a white glove and sometimes wears black slip-on shoes, however, her favorite footwear is the red tengu slippers she got from Aya.


	7. Chapter 6

Morning has come to the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Down in the basement, in Patchouli's library, Renko and Patchouli work on some charms to help Renko fly.

"I'll look ridiculous with that on!" says Renko, as Patchouli ties a light-blue ribbon on the left side of her head, saying "I'm very sorry, Renko, but this is all I have at the moment. Look, I'll place it a little higher, so you can cover it with your hat, if you like."

Renko nods and says "please do."

Patchouli finishes tying the ribbon, then steps back to look at Renko.

She smiles quietly, then says "now remember, your tie, hat and that ribbon will help you to fly. As long as you're wearing at least one of them, you'll be able to manage a slow hover. Have all three, and you'll be soaring the skies like a bird... a slow bird."

Renko sweats a little and says "m-miss Patchouli, are you making fun of me?"

Patchouli giggles and says "look, just come back in three days so we can continue your magic training, alright?"

Renko sighs, then says "alright..."

-

On the first floor, Ail, Meiling and Sakuya have a small conversation before Renko comes up from the library.

Ail hands Sakuya a large bag of money, bowing apologetically, then says "and remember, if you need my help, let me know."

Sakuya accepts the payment and says "I will hold you to your word."

Meiling sweats as she says "come on, Sakuya. He's apologized enough already. When are you going to forgive him?"

Sakuya looks at Ail angrily and says "the mistress did enjoy herself, but that does not excuse him for coming in so boldly and challenging her like that."

Ail narrows his eyes, sweating as he backs away from Sakuya, saying "I really, REALLY sorry about that."

Sakuya sighs and calmly says "well, just don't complain when I call you, alright?"

Ail nods as Meiling chuckles and says "aww, cheer up. Besides, she only used three daggers. That means she still likes you!"

Meiling wraps her arm around Ail's neck and starts to rub his hair with her free hand, making an even bigger mess of his hair, which stays very messy after she lets him go.

As Renko climbs the stairs, Ail shakes his head, and his hair returns to normal.

Renko quietly heads toward the three of them, then says "I'm ready, Ail."

Renko turns to Sakuya, bows, then to Meiling and bows, then Ail opens up a gap to the Hakurei shrine.

He says "say hi to everyone for me."

Renko asks "you're not coming?"

Ail replies "I promised Budou I'd come get her as soon as I was done here."

Renko stares at Ail for a moment, then says "alright then. I'll tell everyone you said hi. Take care then."

Renko enters the gap, and as soon as she's on the shrine grounds, she turns around and waves at Ail, Meiling and Sakuya, just as the gap closes.

Ail opens up another gap, this one to the Moriya Shrine, then Ail smiles and waves, then Sakuya reminds him "don't forget!! I'll be calling for you soon."

Ail smiles nervously, then gets in his gap, revealing three knives still stuck on his back.

As soon as the gap closes, Meiling says "I think you went a little too far."

Sakuya looks at Meiling, dangerously angry, then calmly asks "aren't YOU supposed to be at your post?"

Meiling shrieks, then runs outside, shouting "yes ma'am!"

-

As soon as Ail jumps out of his gap, he lands right in front of the Moriya Shrine.

Budou spots him from inside the shrine and shouts "PAPA~~! Papa's back!!!"

Ail smiles widely and just like that, one of Kanako's logs drops from the sky above.

Ail jumps away just as the log plants itself on the ground, then he looks up and sees Kanako, who shouts "Sorry~! I'm just playing danmaku with Suwako here..."

Ail stares as the two goddesses seem to continue firing danmaku at each other, however, they do so looking quite uninterested in it, making Ail feel awkward, but as Soon as Budou and Sanae come out the door, Ail smiles again, then says "Budou~, Sanae~!"

Budou flies straight at Ail, knocking him down to the ground on his back.

She kisses his cheek repeatedly and says "papa's back. We're going home, aren't we?"

After laughing for a bit, Ail grabs Budou by her arms, pulls her up, sits on the ground, then says "yes, we're going home."

He turns his attention to Sanae, who stands a few feet away, smiling, Phredia silently hovering above her shoulder.

She asks "so how did it go?"

Ail stands up, then smile as he says "I am still a free soul. Well, almost."

Sanae looks on worriedly, then Ail says "I caused a bit of a mess, so I'll be called in to help with repairs. Specially with that roof."

Sanae's expression changes to shock when she asks "roof!? What did you DO!?"

Sanae quickly grabs his hand and pulls him inside while saying "come, let's have some tea inside while you tell us."

Budou continues to stare at them, then says "papa and mama look PINK~!"

Sanae and Ail quickly let go, both turning red and looking away from each other, then Budou giggles and goes inside with a smile on her face, then shouts "come on, I wanna hear how papa won!"

-

While Ail tells Sanae, Phredia and Budou about the battle, the goddesses peek from outside the shrine through one of the windows, glaring constantly at Ail and pretending to cut his bond with Sanae, using their fingers as pretend-scissors and chuckling to themselves as they do.

Ail gets up from the floor, stretching and groaning loudly, so the goddesses scatter away from the window.

Ail says "and now, I want to go home and rest a little."

Budou nods, then jumps on Ail's arms, shouting "home, ho~me"

Phredia flutters excitedly around Budou, then manages to slip under her hair, peeking her little head through some strands, then getting back in.

Sanae giggles and says "looks like someone's ready to go home."

Sanae quiets down, then looks down to the table.

Ail's smile turns to concern, then asks "Sanae, is something wrong?"

Budou stares at her, but before she says anything, Phredia gets close to her ear, so Budou quiets down.

Sanae smiles again as she lifts her face, then says "no, everything's ok. Just a little tired. I... I think I'll go sleep too."

Ail continues to stare, concerned for Sanae.

She giggles and smiles, the flaps her hand in the air as she says "come on, stop staring at me like that."

Ail smiles again, then says "alright, but if something's bothering you, you tell me. You also have Suwako and Kanako... don't forget that."

Sanae bows and continues to smile.

Ail opens a gap right behind him, leading to the front of his house, then steps in.

Sanae blushes a little, wanting to blow a kiss to him, but forces herself not to.

Before the gap closes, Budou waves with a smile and says "see you later, mama~!"

As soon as the gap closes, Sanae's smile completely vanishes.

Suwako enters and says "please, you go rest. We'll take care of this mess."

Sanae rubs her forehead and says "alright. Thanks lady Moriya."

As Sanae goes to her room, Suwako says "any time, Sanae."

Just as Sanae's door closes, Kanako enters hurriedly, asking "so, did he drink it!?"

Suwako grabs Ail's empty tea cup and looks at it closely, then lowers her head as she says "no~ He sipped the tea from the other side!"

Kanako bites on her index finger, then grabs the cup from Suwako and sees Ail's lips missed a faint purplish liquid spread around the top of his cup.

Kanako growls and says "no matter... I got more."

Suwako asks "are you sure that moon-lady won't mind?"

Kanako strikes her chest, proudly saying "we are gods! What are you afraid of?"

Suwako and Kanako shriek as the liquid turns into a cloud of gas, then both shrink to the size of a toddler, sprouting a pair of dog ears and a tail each.

Sounding defeated, and in a high pitched voice, Kanako says "he got us~"

Suwako, in a squeaky voice, says "auuu~ This isn't funny! You crippled senior, you should have been more careful!"

Kanako and Suwako bump their foreheads, staring at each other, electricity coming from their eyes, exploding as it contacts in mid-air, then Kanako says "at least I can lie about my age 'missis' Moriya!"

Suwako gasps, then shouts "you promised never to tell!"

Both growl at each other, then start fighting like dogs, biting each other and whining upon each bite, barking madly, knocking the table, along with all the plates and cups on it.

The commotion makes Sanae come out of her room, looking dreadfully tired.

The dog-desses stop fighting as Sanae scans around, asking "what's going on here? Lady Yasaka? Lady Moriya?"

Kanako springs up in a second, then clears her throat and says "Sanae, this is a dream. If you want to wake up and see everything clean and tidy, and no dogs, then you should go back to sleep."

Suwako, still sitting like a dog on the ground, says "to Inu-Kanako you listen, young grasshopper."

Sanae looks on, then says "dream... sleep... Yeah... I wanna sleep."

Sanae somberly goes back to her room, and just as her door closes, Suwako and Kanako rush to clean everything around, while still in their dog forms.

-

At Entei, Rika wakes up on the living room's floor and notices Tewi is gone.

She sits up, and while using her left hand for support, he uses her right hand to rub her eyes.

She groans, then asks herself "oh dear... seems I fell asleep here. I wonder where miss Tewi might be?"

She looks to her left and notices the chained collar Tewi had on, is now on the floor.

Somehow, Tewi managed to free herself from it, but Rika did not mind, and she lets out a quick giggle.

Eirin walks out of her room, looking wide awake, immediately saying "good morning, miss Rika!"

Rika smile angelically as she turns her face to Eirin's saying "good morning, miss Eirin!"

Eirin turns her face, covering her mouth and nose with her hand.

Rika looks on with concern and asks "miss Eirin, are you ok?"

Eirin nods and says "yes, I'm fine... it's nothing, deary."

Eirin spots Tewi's collar and says "I see she managed to escape. *Sigh* No matter. She's been punished enough already. Miss Rika, would you like some breakfast?"

Rika smiles and says "please, don't mind me. Besides, I'm a little too excited. I get to meet my master today! I wonder what she's like?"

Eirin smiles and says "nonsense. I'll wake Udonge up so she can fix us up some breakfast."

Eirin turns to Reisen's room before Rika can reply, so Rika just sighs and gives up.

After breakfast, Rika helps Reisen with the dishes and the cleaning, while Eirin heads to her clinic.

Kaguya has just finished her meal, and when Reisen goes to pick up her dishes to clean them, Kaguya says "Udonge, I'm thirsty. Please bring me some water. Do it in 5 seconds."

Reisen says "right away, princess" but thinks "that's impossible."

Rika smiles as she washes the last of the dishes. Reisen gets closer and says "I really want to thank you for your help. I feel a bit guilty, letting a guest do the dishes like this."

Rika smiles as she says "please, don't think about it too much. I am happy to help."

Both continue to smile at each other for a moment, then both stop smiling and stand quietly, looking at each other seriously.

Reisen and Rika nod to each other and turn around, Reisen aiming her index finger, and Rika aiming a spoon right behind Reisen.

Both stop and Rika exclaims "miss Yukari."

Yukari yawns and says "come on, darling, it's time to take you to your master."

Yukari looks very sleepy, her eyes baggy and her lower lid dark.

Rika gasps and asks "miss Yukari, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Yukari replies "hmm? Oh, yes sweetie, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, but I gave you my word to take you to your master today, so here I am."

Rika looks down, feeling a bit disappointed, then asks "can we wait for Tewi? I want to say goodbye to her."

Eirin enters and says "don't worry, you'll be seeing her around. We'll let her know you said goodbye, alright?"

Rika smiles, even though there's still some disappointment in her eyes, then nods and says "well, everyone, thank you so~ much for your hospitality, and I hope to see you all soon, ok?"

Reisen and Eirin nod, then Kaguya says "go with the blessings of the moon."

Rika smiles angelically, causing all, but Yukari, to cover their noses and mouths with their hands.

Rika sweats and asks "are you... sure you're alright?"

Eirin says "yes, deary, we are fine. Now go, that youkai is about to fall asleep there."

Rika looks at Yukari, who is staring at the wall, unblinking.

Rika says "miss Yukari?"

Yukari reacts and says "oh, sorry about that. Ready to go?"

Rika nods, then Yukari immediately wraps Rika around her gap, then both vanish.

Eirin says "she's way too sweet."

Reisen adds "I hope she can handle that shrine and it's maiden."

Eirin asks Kaguya "princess? Blessings from the moon?"

Kaguya smiles back and calmly says "I can do that, you know. I AM a princess of the moon, aren't I?"

Both Reisen and Eirin smile while thinking "but we're not ON the moon."

-

At Ail's house, Ail sets Budou on the ground, who excitedly runs straight toward the door, edging "come on, come on, open it! I wanna go in!"

Ail chuckles and says "alright, alright. Let me just..."

From inside the house, the sound of glass breaking unsettles Ail, who says "Budou... behind me!"

Budou obediently gets behind Ail, then Ail quickly opens the door, and to their surprise, inside they find a huge party.

Mystia, Cirno, Daiyousei, Wriggle, Lily White, the three mischievous fairies: Luna, Sunny and Star, Medicine, the Prismriver sisters, and even Yuki and Tewi.

Ail's eyes hide under his hair as his face turns blue, his lips trembling as he looks at the mess of confetti, balloons, food and drinks spilled on the ground.

Lily is the first to notice Ail and immediately rushes to hug him, shouting "welcome ho~me!"

Budou get out form behind Ail, raises both arms, and shouts "party, party, party~~!" then flaps her wings as she runs inside to join in the party, Phredia holding on to her hair as tightly as she can, for fear of falling behind.

Ail continues to look on from the doorway, as Mystia sings "and she said she'd eat night sparrow~~ but I esca~~ped and flew away~~" and the Prismrivers join her with their instruments.

Ail is unable to shake the shock, and just stands there, his eyes under his hair, his face blue, his mouth open widely, and still, unable to say a single thing.

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu speaks with Renko and Maribel, who are days away from moving to their new house in the village.

Reimu takes her tea from the table, and Maribel, who is sitting across the other side, facing directly at Reimu, says "mister Kyo has helped quite a lot too. He says it'll only take a few more days until it's complete."

Renko adds "so we'll be out of your hair, at last."

Reimu chokes on her tea, pulls the cup away, and says "oh, please, don't think you've been a bother at all. You've helped here quite a lot, and I am grateful for that... it's gonna be a bit lonely after you guys leave... you know."

Renko looks surprised,but Maribel giggles and says "aww, don't worry, miss Reimu, we'll visit often, I promise."

Reimu smiles tenderly, but her smile immediately turns to an annoyed look the second she hears Yukari's gap open behind her.

Without turning around, Reimu asks "what is it now, Yukari?"

Yukari replies "is that any way to treat a *yaw~~n* guest?"

As Reimu turns around, she says "Yukari, this isn't an inn, so if you want to sle...-"

Reimu spots Rika and asks "Oh no, you poor dear, did Yukari trap you inside Gensokyo?"

Reimu gets up and angrily says "Yukari, stop being so irresponsible! Get her back home!"

Rika says "My name is Rika. Who is Reimu Hakurei?"

From under the floor, the translucent Mima pops her head in front of Rika, looking uninterested.

She completely comes up from under the floor and solidifies, making Rika shriek and back away in surprise, then asks "another cutie? Want some cat ears?"

Rika stomps on the ground and says "h-how rude! And no, I don't want cat ears!"

Mima pouts and says "alright, jeez, no need to get all stuffy."

Mima floats away, heading back under the floor, turning translucent again and saying "all I did was ask."

Reimu sighs as she places her hands on her waist and says "Rika... I would be Reimu Hakurei. That was Mima, and these are Maribel Han and Renko Usami. Now tell me, why would you be looking for me?"

Rika bows to the floor, placing her forehead on the floor and saying "I finally meet you, mistress Reimu!"

Reimu shrikes "what!?" then glares at Yukari and asks "is this one of your pranks, Yukari!?"

Yukari is still inside her gap and has fallen completely asleep, snoring quietly, slowly falling from inside the gap.

Reimu sighs and says "look, miss Rika, you don't have to play along with this hag. Just get up and-"

Rika lifts her torso and with her knees, she quickly moves toward Reimu, gently grabs her hand, and says "miss Reimu, I have been trained to be your maid. You are to be my master,and I am going to serve you as best as I can!"

Reimu looks into Rika's light-blue eyes and drifts into her own memories.

She remembers a nuclear powered robot maid, called Ruukoto, who dressed in a blue and white maid's outfit with a red ribbon around her neck and had light-green hair.

Reimu had received this robot maid as a gift from Yumemi Okazaki, but Ruukoto one day left without warning, or even a "goodbye".

Reimu's eyes are now hidden by her hair and cast in a light shadow.

A small tears falls from her left eye as she says "please, go. I do not want a maid, neither do I want to be anyone's master."

Rika asks "but, mistress Reimu?"

Reimu strictly shouts "didn't you hear me!? Please, just go back home!"

Maribel and Renko quietly stare at Reimu, who continues to hide her eyes, and Rika, who looks at Reimu quite surprised and saddened.

-

Three hours have passed since Ail got home.

He still stands in front of the entrance, his eyes hidden by his hair, his face blue, his mouth open, and just standing there.

A washtub falls from above him, making a loud clanging sound upon impact.

Ail snaps back to himself, looks up and hears Flandre angrily shouting "that's for yesterday, you JERK! *giggle*"

Ail scratches his head, trying to figure if Flandre is angry, or just playing, but he forgets about that, looks back inside his house, then shouts "PARTY IS OVER~! Everybody STOP RIGHT NOW!"

Everybody stops in their tracks. Mystia stops singing, the Prismrivers stop playing, and even Budou stays hovering in the air, without moving her wings at all, staring directly at Ail.

Ail, as calmly as he can, says "everyone? Please, just go... The party is over."

All say, at the same time, a very loud "OK!!!"

First to leave are Cirno and Daiyousei.

Cirno says "nice party."

Daiyousei adds "it was very nice."

Yuki comes out, along with Tewi, saying "well, I should be getting back home anyway."

Tewi adds "I should go home too."

Next is Mystia and the Prismrivers, who hand Ail a few pieces of paper, Mystia saying "since you're a fiend, I'm giving you a discount."

Lunasa adds "you can take your time with that."

Merlin adds "but not too long, or we'll come to haunt you~!"

Next come the three mischievous fairies, who just smirk as widely as they can, then fly away, Sunny saying "that was a blast!"

Next comes Wriggle with an innumerable amount of bugs following her, saying "haha, I don't think I've ever had this much fun before."

Ail's face turns blue as he trembles and says "d-don't f-f-f-forget to take a-all your b-b-bug friends."

Wriggle smiles and says "don't worry, I won't."

Next comes Medicine, who says "eh, it's was ok. Oh, Ail.... you should wash your plates before you use them again. I sneezed on some of them. Don't worry, though, the poison isn't lethal."

Ail sweats as he forces a smile and says "er, sure... thanks for the warning."

Next comes Yuki again, saying "yo, what's up?"

Ail looks at her, but says nothing.

Next comes Lily White, who smiles as she jumps on Ail, giving him a tight hug around his neck, then says "see you next spring!" then flies away.

Ail looks inside and sees Budou, quietly sitting on the couch, giggling while she and Phredia play with her index finger, swinging her arm side to side.

An eggplant colored umbrella pops from under the ground, surprising Ail stiff.

Ail manages to say "h-hey, Kogasa."

Kogasa reveals herself from under her umbrella, sticking out her tongue as she smiles and says "I missed you, mister chicken. I'll be visiting you more often, making sure you don't escape me again!"

Ail scratches the left side of his head as he sweats a little and tries to smile, saying "a-alright... just don't come at nights, or I'll blast you."

-

His house is now quiet, and only Yuki stands behind him.

Ail turns around to face her and asks "and what are you still doing here?"

Ail's eyes almost pop right out of their sockets when he realizes there are at least 50 Yukis behind him.

One of the Yukis says "oh, right. Gotta go home. See ya!"

The other Yukis say "see ya later, Yuki~!" as the lone Yuki flies away toward the Hakurei Shrine, she turns around to wave at the other Yukis.

Ail rubs his eyes many times before asking "Yu-Yuki...? What going on here?"

Budou comes out and stares at the Yukis, then says "miss Nue, don't be shy. Say hi to papa!"

Ail looks at Budou and asks "Nue? Who's that?"

The Yukis all start glowing white, then, in an instant, they all turn into a single medium-sized orb, then the orb takes a woman's shape.

After a bit, the glowing stops, and Ail can see who Nue is.

She has short black hair and dark red eyes. One her back, to the left, three red sharp metallic-looking wings, to the right, three blue arrow-shaped tails. She holds a trident on her right hand and coiled around it and her arm is a snake. On her left hand she wears a black wristband. She wears a black dress with a blue and white trim in the middle of her chest with a red bow on the front, a red yin-yang design on the lower corner of her dress' skirt, a pair of thigh-high black stockings and red shoes.

Ail stares at her for some time, then asks "you are Nue?"

Nue chuckles and says "surprised? I can change my form to that you fear the most, and what's more scary than an army of THAT girl, right?"

Ail nods, but is unable to answer.

Nue smiles widely and offers her right hand, saying "my full name is Nue Houjuu. You must be Ail, right? Nice to meet 'cha."

Ail extends his hand, keeping an eye on the snake around Nue's right arm.

She lets go and says "don't worry, she's friendly. She won't bite.... that hard..."

Ail stares surprised, but before saying anything, Nue says "oh, I better get back to the temple, or Byakuren will get worried."

Ail completely relaxes, then smiles and asks "oh, you're a friend of lady Byakuren?"

Nue smiles wide as she says "yeah! She's really nice too."

Ail nods and says "well, a friend of Byakuren's is welcome here... err... just no more parties."

Nue laughs, then kicks off the ground, flying backward while saying "well, see you later, Ail. Oh, if you see a flying slice of cheese, could you free it? That poor thing's been looking for a way out all night."

Ail stares in disbelief as he asks "a-all night?"

Nue waves, still smiling wide, then flies away.

Ail looks back inside his house and realizes the magical defenses had been triggered, but they obviously failed.

Food, drinks, confetti, glasses, plates, broken ornaments, chairs, all lie everywhere around the house.

Ail looks around with a shadow cast on his eyes, strands of hair springing out of his head, his mouth trembling, then he says "this... is so not fair."

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, tension rises, as Rika refuses to leave, Yukari continues to sleep, and Renko and Maribel have no idea what to do.

Rika strikes her chest with the open palm of her hand, making a painfully loud smacking sound that even causes Renko to wince.

Rika coughs and says "too... hard..." but quickly shakes her head, recovers, then says "look, I can prove myself worthy! Just give me something to do. Any task, and I'll do it!"

Reimu looks back at Rika, looking quite serious, then says "oh sure, you say that now, but when you get bored of me, you'll just leave, like..."

Rika looks on and asks "like?"

Reimu shouts "never you mind!"

Rika looks like she's about to cry, then Reimu gasps as Maribel whispers "you went too far~"

Reimu glares at Maribel, who looks to the ceiling, then turns to Rika, places her hand on her shoulder, then says "look, I don't know why you think I need a maid. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I have many friends that help me... sometimes... so really, Rika, you can just go home and.... eh?"

Reimu realizes that Rika started to cry as she said those words.

Reimu panics and says "w-wait, I didn't mean to..."

Rika sniffles, then says "I... I was told you needed me and I came here to help... but it seems you don't need me. Oh, miss VIVIT, I'm so sorry!"

Reimu reacts to the name and asks "VIVIT... you mean that pink haired maid with the blues eyes?"

Rika sniffles and says "yes... she said I was to be your maid, to help you and be with you all the time. I trained all my life for this. Please, lady Reimu, please reconsider."

Reimu walks to the table, then sits down hard on the ground.

She grabs her teacup, takes a sip, places her elbow on the table and rests her head on the back of her hand, then says "alright... on one condition."

Rika replies "ANYTHING!"

Reimu smiles and says "if you ever think of leaving, you will let me know before-hand, is that clear?"

Rika's face glows when she smiles angelically after hearing Reimu say that. She rapidly nods and says "but I'll NEVER leave you, mistress Reimu! You'll see, you won't be sorry!"

Reimu sweats, then smiles and says "right... please, don't use that mistress thing... makes me feel old, like some vampire I know."

At the SDM, Remilia springs up on her bed, calling Sakuya, then, as soon as Sakuya enters, she says "please make preparations to visit the shrine later today."

Sakuya asks "is there something wrong?"

Remilia says "I don't know, but I feel I've JUST been described as 'old'"

Sakuya covers her mouth as she gasps, then uncovers it and says "the culprit will pay, my lady!"

Remilia yawns and says "but let's go later... I want to sleep a little longer now."

Sakuya bows as she closes the door, saying "of course, my lady."

-

A few moments after Reimu's decision, Rika finds the broom closet, takes out a few brooms, a mop, a bucket, then reminds herself Reimu's orders.

"Ok, miss Reimu asked me to, wake up miss Yukari so she can go home, clean the roof, sweep the grounds, and clean the storage house... Time to prove myself! First, I must wake miss Yukari."

Rika walks to Yukari and whispers "miss Yukari~ Miss Yukari, please wake up."

Rika stares at Yukari, who continues to sleep, letting her body hang from inside her gap.

Rika raises her voice "miss Yukari~! Please, wake up already!" No response.

Rika stares some more, then goes and grabs a metal pot and a spoon, then bangs them hard, making a loud racket, but Yukari continues to sleep.

Rika's eyes let out a stream of tears as she rubs the bump on her head, left by Reimu, then Rika says to herself "noise is not good for my lady."

Renko casually walks to her, then says "you're doing this the wrong way. You have to shoot magic at her."

Rika smiles, and says "oh, I can do that!"

Renko asks "can you let me do it? I'm trying to learn how to use magic, and this might be the only chance I get to try this."

Rika stares at Renko, then smiles and says "please, go ahead, then."

Renko places her hands together, chants some strange words, then raises her left hand, generating an energy reaction on the tip of her finger.

She points it at Yukari and shouts "FIRE~!!"

Renko unleashes an energy orb the size of a fly, but it fizzles and turns to nothing at Renko's finger-tip.

Renko lowers her entire body, letting her arms hang in the air as she says "no, I still can't do this. Gah, I just don't GET IT!"

Rika stares at Renko for some time, then gets in front of her, smiles, the waves her hands, generating thin blades made out of air that make Yukari scream just as the blades explode on her.

Rika giggles and says "yay, you're finally awake!"

Yukari smacks her lips and yawns again, then asks "wh-where am I?"

Rika smiles and says "sorry, miss Yukari, but Reimu asks that you leave, and if you want to sleep, to do so on your own house."

Yukari stares at Rika's smiling face, then says "fine. Seems you're getting the hang of things here. I'll see you again later."

Yukari enters her gap, disappearing immediately as she does.

Renko stares at Rika and shouts "how did you do that!?"

Rika asks "what? I just asked her to leave in a polite manner, that's all."

Rika shouts "NOT THAT! The magic. HOW!? I've been studying for a week and I STILL don't get it!"

Rika smiles and says "there's nothing to 'get' miss Renko. All you need is to believe you can do it, and you'll be able to use magic too."

Renko shouts "I CAN'T! I NEED to understand it. How it works, WHY it works!? Why some have certain skills, elements! GAH, I'm hopeless!"

Renko runs away outside before Rika could say another word, then Rika asks herself "did I say something wrong?"

-

Next, Rika finds a ladder, then gets on top of the shrine's roof.

It's full of leaves, seeds and feathers, some lilac, others black.

She looks around and says "this could take some time... unless... that's a great idea."

Rika giggles, then twirls in place, making her skirt lift up to her knees, then she stops and points the open palm of her hand toward the leaves, seeds and feathers, then a light gust of wind starts blowing from her hands, sending all to the ground.

It takes around five minutes, but she manages to finish blowing the last of the leaves and feathers to the ground, then notices a girl with short black hair, red eyes, dressed with a white shirt and black skirt, wearing a strange red hat and strange red slippers.

Rika stares for a moment, then asks "and who might you be, miss?"

The girl sprouts a pair of black wings that drop some feathers on Rika's clean roof, then says "my name is Aya Shameimaru. I've never seen you around here. What's your name?"

Rika bows and says "where are my manners? My name is Rika. Pleasure to meet you, miss Aya."

Aya stares curiously and says "I see... and what are you doing?"

Rika says "following my mistress' orders. I must finish cleaning this roof now, so please, don't interrupt me."

Rika repeats the dance she did earlier, but this time, Aya takes a quick picture, making Rika yelp "HEY!" and try and cover herself, but in doing so, she generates a strong gust that blows Aya's feathers from the roof, and blows their hair upward.

Rika's hair comes back down and sets itself as it should, but Aya's stays up, making her hair look spiky.

Rika giggles and says "sorry, miss Aya."

Aya tries to comb her hair with her fingers, angrily whispering "ayayaya, amateur."

-

Rika climbs down the ladder, takes it away, then comes back with a broom, then starts sweeping the ground with an amazing skill, sweeping as quickly as she can, without missing a single leaf.

Piling all the leaves, feathers, seeds and dust in a single neat pile in just one hour, Rika wipes the sweat off her forehead.

She smiles and says "my lady Reimu will be so pleased."

Rika looks around and admires a job well done, then says "now let's dispose of these quickly."

She rushes to the broom closet and finds some waste bags, takes two, then immediately rushes back outside, just to get the surprise of her life, as Maribel giggles and claps, while Suika, the orange haired, dual-horned oni spits out fire, burning the pile in an instant.

Rika sweats and stares with surprise, then shouts "HEY~! I'm supposed to be taking care of that! How am I supposed to prove myself to lady Reimu now!?"

The horned girl stares at Rika with narrow eyes, then turns to Maribel while pointing at Rika.

Maribel nods, then Suika runs to her, gives her a hug, and says "WELCOME!"

Rika's back cracks, then the girl lets her go, then says "anyone who is a friend of Reimu is also my friend."

Rika stares at her, rubbing her back in pain, then the girl says "oh, right. I am Suika Ibuki, an oni, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Rika."

Rika flinches, then asks "c-can you read minds?"

Suika stares at her with childish eyes, then says "no. Mary just told me you name."

Maribel shouts "it's Maribel; MA-RI-BEL!!!"

Ignoring Maribel, Rika says "oh... pleasure to meet you, miss Suika."

Suika takes a drink from her gourd, then the smell of sake reaches Rika, who asks "WHOA! Aren't you a little young to be drinking that?"

Suika stares with narrow eyes, and a childish expression, then says "I'm a lot older than you think, young lady."

Rika stares with surprise, but then looks at the sun and says "oh my gosh, it's noon! I have to hurry and finish my tasks. I MUST not fail lady Reimu!"

Rika grabs the broom she was using, then, still holding on to the waste bags, she rushes to the storage house, trailing dust as she runs.

Suika takes another gulp of sake, then smiles and says "so hyper, this one."

-

Without wasting another second, Rika begins cleaning by first taking all the food baskets form the floor and taking them outside, then re-accommodating all the shelves, cleaning them with a feather duster as fast as she can, then returning the food baskets inside, placing them all in order.

The shelves alone take her 2 hours to finish, the skies outside are turning golden by now, but Rika's not about done, as she grabs a broom and sweeps like her life depends on it.

Quickly, she grabs a dented metal bucket and quickly goes for water, finding the lake behind the shrine and quickly filling the bucket, then rushing back to the storage house.

Genjii peeks from underwater, then smiles as he goes back in.

Rika quickly enters the storage house and begins to mop as fast as she can, leaving every area she mops clean and shiny.

Finally finished, Rika takes a deep breath, wipes the sweat off her forehead, looks at the sky, which is still golden, slowly darkening as night comes.

Rika says to herself "lady Reimu will be so happy now! Eh?"

6 oddly placed boards on the floor get Rika's attention, who immediately investigates and finds the hidden basement.

Rika gets shocked and shouts "NO~~! I missed a spo~t!"

Quickly, Rika rushes downstairs and starts by opening the doors to the left and right, then saying "oh, so spacious... but empty."

Wasting no time, Rika sweeps and mops both rooms, finishing in just 20 minutes, then heads to the center room.

Immediately, she notices the futon on the floor and the many charms on the walls and says "oh my, I better clean all this."

Rika uses her wind blades, but realizes the charms bounce them back to her, making her dodge, her eyes almost popping out of her head as she clenches her teeth and dodges, narrowly missing being hit.

Rika sighs, then says "guess I'll have to do this the old-fashioned way" then starts peeling the charms from the wall with her own hands.

Once done, she dusts the walls, sweeps and mops the floor, then uses light wind magic to help the floor dry up.

She takes the futon with her and says "for now, I am done here. Better clean these before reporting to mistr-- lady Reimu."

-

Noon in Makai. Yuki flies straight to Pandemonium, running inside the halls in order to reach Shinki as quickly as possible.

Out of breath, after reaching Shinki and Yumeko at the dormitories' hall, Yuki pants, pointing her finger up, signaling Shinki of her arrival.

Shinki smiles angelically and says "Yuki, child, you're finally home. I was starting to get worried!"

Yumeko says "young lady, you have a LOT to explain!"

Yuki continues to breathe deeply, trying to catch her breath, then Shinki asks "oh, you didn't get the books then?"

Yuki bow apologetically, then, taking one last gasp of air, says "I tried to hide, but they saw me, even while fighting. Then the books fell off my skirt, so I tried to escape, but that evil maid knifed me. I didn't even see her do it!"

Yumeko says in a strict tone "I told you not to get sloppy. Guess It's up to me."

Shinki continues to smile as she says "please, don't get too upset. I want to learn more about their history too, but if we try to force this, it might make Reimu angry."

Yumeko smiles and says "my lady is so smart and kind! Don't you worry, I'll handle it easily. Besides, I am at full power again, so I can summon my short swords with ease."

As Yuki says "fine, I'll got to my room... see ya." Shinki smiles and says "oh, that's so wonderful, Yumeko. Um, did you remember to name your spells? You know, so you can make them into spell cards?"

Yumeko sweats and face-palms herself, then says "those damned spell cards"

Shinki giggles and says "but they are so much fun."

Shinki pulls 6 spell cards from under her robe and says "see? I've made mine."

Yumeko smiles and says "my lady, you are so great!" then hugs Shinki tightly.

Out of breath, Shinki says "Yu-Yumeko... c-can't breath!"

Yumeko lets go of Shinki, apologizing and wiping the blood off her nose.

Afterward, she says "fine... I'll prepare myself some spell cards, then head out. Is that alright?"

Shinki recovers her breath, smiles, then says "of course. Just don't overdo yourself."

Yumeko bows elegantly and says "I'll be fine, lady Shinki.

-

Night comes, and Sakuya and Remilia go straight inside the shrine, Sakuya shouting "excuse us~. Reimu, are you here?"

From her room, Reimu shouts "I'll be out in a minute!"

Remilia and Sakuya sit themselves by the table, then look around.

Renko sits in one of the corners, surrounded by books, looking frustrated as she reads one of them.

Maribel comes from the kitchen with a plate of rice cookies and some tea, then says "welcome miss Remilia, miss Sakuya. What brings you here tonight?"

Sakuya and Remilia continue to look around and spot Rika in the kitchen, then Remilia asks "wait, isn't Reimu in her room?"

Before Maribel answers, Reimu comes out from her room and says "or, Remilia, Sakuya... that's strange. I haven't seen Marisa all day."

Remilia double-takes at Reimu as Sakuya continues to stare toward the kitchen.

Remilia finally asks "Re-Reimu? How can you be in two places at the same time?"

Reimu, sounding annoyed, asks "what's the matter with you two... ooh~ I see. Sorry, I haven't introduced you yet. Rika, could you come over here, please?"

Sakuya and Remilia look at each other, as the girl replies "right away miss Reimu!"

From the kitchen comes Rika, smiling and looking at Remilia and Sakuya with her sky-blue eyes, then bows to Reimu and asks "what is it, miss Reimu?"

Reimu says "Remilia, Sakuya, please meet Rika, the new maid, here at the Hakurei Shrine."

Both Sakuya and Remilia exclaim at the same time, in complete shock "MAID!!?"

Rika smiles angelically, then, stopping herself from hugging Reimu, says "miss Reimu, so does that mean I can stay!? REALLY!?"

Reimu smiles and says "yeah... Just don't forget your promise, alright?"

Rika nods while still smiling, then, almost singing, she says "I'll be done cooking soon, please wait at the table~."

Both Sakuya and Remilia are still in shock, then Reimu asks "what's the matter with you two?"

Before they answer, Mima pops from under the floor, looking extremely overexcited, then asks "who did it!? Who cleaned all my stuff, my room, and took out all the charms?"

Reimu points whit her thumb at Rika, then Mima launches at her, surprising Rika as she turns around, then gives her a hug, and kisses her cheeks while saying "thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I finally get my own room, THANK YOU!"

Placing Rika back on the ground, allowing her to recover, Mima continues to smile while staring at Rika.

Reimu says "Rika, you did all that? Wow, thank you very much for that."

Rika smiles angelically, placing both hands together against her cheek while tilting her head just slightly, feeling as though she's about to start floating in the air, then says "really!? I am so happy to hear that, miss Reimu. Eh? Oh no, is everyone alright?"

Rika's smile vanishes when she notices everyone in the room is bleeding through their noses.

Mima, with a heart on her mouth, grabs Rika, giving her a big hug and shouting "SO CUTE!"

Sakuya continues to bleed through her nose, then, when Remilia notices, she shout "Sakuya, how could you!?"

Sakuya snaps out of it and stutters "er, um, my-my-my lady! S-sorry... sorry!"

-

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Phredia & Budou were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by snapshot2010

NOV 1 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N: Don't forget to brush your teeth before bed. And now, another of my OC's descriptions.**

Ail (Anilan Inmodo Leuch)  
Although full of doubt at the beginning of the story, he quickly recovers himself from depression and accepts that he can't be perfect and that even though he wishes to always help his friends, he must also accept their help.

Wears his usual waist-long violet shirt and black pants with many pockets. Has short brown unkempt hair and yellowish-brown eyes. This time, he throws away the destroyed black slip-ons and recovers his old brown boots, which were restored by Nitori, with some added features, to Ail's surprise and dismay. He also has his golden bracelet on his right wrist which has Shinki, Kanako, Suwako, the Hakurei and now, Shou's blessings in it.


	8. Chapter 7

Late night at Pandemonium in Makai.

Organ music plays loudly as Yumeko's eyes glow bright white and her smile shines blood-red inside a dark room.

She grabs a stake and a hammer and laughs maniacally as she bangs the hammer against the stake's head, causing sudden sparks of light that cast a large shadow of herself against the wall.

Thunder rumbles, then everything goes quiet. Yumeko's eyes look around in the dark room, then she taps her foot rapidly.

Her eyes change from neutral, to slightly annoyed, then she asks "oy~, Mai! Why'd you stop playing!?" Mai replies "oh, sorry."

The organ music continues and Yumeko laughs maniacally, raising both arms toward the ceiling, shouting "I DID IT! I~.... Have FIXED lady Shinki's DOORKNOB!"

The organ makes a loud and disturbing sound as Mai seems to strike at least 7 keys at the same time, then says "whoa, whoa, whoa! Yumeko, I though you were making those spell cards!"

The room lights up, leaving a few corners cast in darkness, and revealing a silver doorknob with a detailed Chinese dragon design on it sitting on the table where Yumeko was working.

Yumeko smiles at Mai, then says "oh, those. Please, child, what do you take me for? I finished those HOURS ago!"

Mai, who now stands 5 feet to the left of Yumeko, placing her hands on her waist and staring angrily says "then why you need all this frightening mood and music for!?"

Yumeko giggles and says "well, it's nice to have fun once in a while, right? Er, just don't tell lady Shinki, alright?"

Thunder strikes along with lightning, revealing Shinki hiding in one of the darkest corners of the room, smiling wickedly at Yumeko, all happening while Mai, once more, plays a frightening tone on the organ, the notes rising progressively.

Yumeko opens her eyes wide, and from outside the palace, Yumeko's scream of horror echoes far, reaching Luize, who is giving a late-night tour around Makai to some youkai form Gensokyo.

Luize looks toward the palace with narrow eyes, then says "oh my, I hope they didn't find my Reimu hair-piece."

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Rika finishes cleaning the dishes from the meal, then, right after setting the last dish to dry, she gasps, then quickly turns around, and taking small, yet incredibly quick baby steps, she heads toward Reimu, who is sitting next to the small table, next to Remilia and Sakuya, then bows and continues to stare at Reimu for some time.

Reimu stares back, feeling a bit annoyed, then asks "what is it? Do I have something in my face?"

Rika bows again, then says "my lady, we must perform the master and servant oath ceremony!"

Reimu raises her left brow, then, sounding as casual as ever, asks "the master and servant what ceremony?"

Remilia bangs on the table, getting Reimu's attention, then stares very seriously at Reimu and says "Reimu! If you are to have a maid as devoted as this girl you MUST perform the oath ceremony."

Reimu fakes falling asleep, making Remilia's face turn red in anger.

Remilia sighs, calming herself down, then says "Sakuya, if you please."

Sakuya bows and says "right away, my lady."

Sakuya leans over to Reimu, then quickly, she smacks Reimu on the back of her head.

Reimu, surprised, yelps as she quickly springs up, then glares at Sakuya, preparing some charms to attack, but Remilia and Sakuya jump out of the way just as 3 air blades fly straight toward them.

Rika positions herself right in front of Reimu and glares angrily at Sakuya, then, in a threatening undertone she says "don't you dare hurt my lady!"

Sakuya stares into Rika's eyes and realizes Rika will fight back.

Reimu holds Rika's shoulder, then says "whoa, Rika, calm down. It's nothing, really."

Rika slowly lowers her guard, then Sakuya comments "hey, girl. You should be a bit more elegant than that. Behavior like that is a disgrace to maids everywhere!"

Rika gets a little tense, but Reimu's glare toward Sakuya makes her quiet down, then Reimu says "shh, calm down, Rika. Come on, sit down and take a break, alright?"

Before Rika sits down, she bows apologetically, saying "I'm sorry, miss Remilia, miss Sakuya. that was rude from my part." then sits down, still sending a few angry glances at Sakuya from time to time.

Reimu says "look, it's getting late. Why don't we all calm down and just go to sleep, huh?"

Remilia looks into Reimu's eyes, nods, then says "I agree. Sakuya, let's go home."

Sakuya elegantly bows and says "understood, my lady."

Halfway back home, Sakuya flies closer to Remilia, then says "my lady, we forgot to ask about... that."

Remilia asks "'that?' Sakuya, please make sense."

Sakuya casually asks "well, didn't we come to the shrine to find out who called you old, my lady?"

Remilia's face twists into a confused state, then shouts "aw, CRAP!" then almost crying, says "Sakuya~! You're supposed to be aware of these things!"

Sakuya's nose bleeds a little, then says "I'm s-sorry, m-my lady" then thinks "my lady is so adorable!"

-

Reimu prepares a futon for Rika, who is going to sleep in the living room for the night, then says "since you caught me a bit unprepared, you can sleep here with Renko and Maribel."

Renko and Maribel are already asleep, their futons laid where the table was just a few minutes ago.

Rika looks sad as she gets in hers and says "my lady, I am sorry for my behavior before."

Reimu sighs and says "it's alright. Just take it easy, alright. We all play around like that, but that doesn't mean there isn't danger. You just need to be more careful and learn to differ between the two."

Rika rests her head on the pillow and says "I will, for my lady's sake. Err, miss Reimu, about that oath?"

Reimu places her hand in front of Rika, then gently says "sleep. Sleep and rest those thoughts. Tomorrow is another day."

Rika falls asleep very fast, then Reimu gets up from beside Rika, then quietly heads to her room, thinking "oath... to what? You'll just leave me!"

The doors to Reimu's room close, then the entire shrine falls in silence.

That night, Reimu has a dream of the past.

She wears the long sleeved white shirt and long red pants, her hair is purplish as well as her eyes, and she looks a little younger.

She spots Ruukoto, then quickly runs to her, but the more she tires to reach, the farther she gets.

Reimu looks around, her hair starts turning darker, along with her eyes. Ruukoto smiles and waves, then suddenly vanishes.

Reimu tries to shout, but no sound comes from her, so she tries to run to where Ruukoto was, but she realizes, the more she tries to run toward Ruukoto, the farther away she gets. Even far from the shrine itself.

Reimu's hair is now shorter, and dark-brown and she's wearing her present clothes, along with her detached sleeves.

She looks behind herself and sees Rika, smiling at her.

At first, she hesitates, but then she Realizes Rika is running toward her, but she doesn't see a fatal spike trap in front of her.

Reimu shouts again, this time, sound comes form her as she shouts "LOOK OUT!"

Reimu runs toward Rika, but realizes she won't get there in time, so she flies toward her, magically reaching her in an instant and saving her from the trap.

Rika says "my lady, I am so glad!"

Reimu looks around, then realizes they are now inside the shrine, then a blinding light ends her dream.

Reimu wakes up and realizes it's still dark. She sits on her futon, then says "yes... I should know better. Living in the past hinders the present and prevents a future. I'll give Rika a chance..."

-

Morning comes, and Ail is taking out the last of the garbage from his house.

He looks up at the morning sky with heavy, sleepy eyes, then smiles as some birds fly by, singing their morning songs. Mystia sings along with them, adding a certain charm to the song.

Ail sighs and says "I guess moments like these are worth more than anything money can-"

Mystia sings as loud and as clear as she can "CHIN~ CHIN~!"

Ail coughs as he swallows his words, then shouts "hey, watch that language! I have a MINOR here!"

Mystia sings back "but I'm~ just singing~!"

Ail smacks his forehead, then, as he slowly lets his hand drop down, he says "I'm too tired for this. Let's just go inside and take a nap..."

Ail enters his house, and the moment his door clicks, there is a knock.

Ail whimpers as his eyes are cast in shadow, but he takes a deep breath, relaxes, then opens the door.

"Yes, who is it?" he asks as he opens the door.

Alice Margatroid stands at the entrance, looking a little embarrassed.

She places both hands on her skirt, as if trying to constrict herself, and while looking away, she says "um, er, g-good morning... Ail. Ho-how are you?"

Ail looks at her in surprise and says "Alice, what a surprise?"

He notices Alice's face is red, so he decides to calm down, then politely smiles and says "oh, please, come on in. I'll make you some tea."

At first, Alice though of just going away, but Shanghai pulls on her sleeves, edging her to accept the invitation.

Alice forces a nervous smile, then says "y-yes, thank you very much." then goes inside.

-

While Ail prepares the tea, he asks "so what can I help you with?"

Alice keeps quiet so Ail continues "I don't mean to be rude, but you never really visit me... so..."

Alice finally builds up the courage to say "I would like to see that fairy again... the one that's protecting Budou... if it's not much to ask?"

Ail smiles as he comes from the kitchen and serves the tea and a plate of cookies, then says "you mean Phredia? Well, it's late, so guess I'll go and wake Budou up. Please wait here for a moment."

Alice nods, then takes a sip of tea.

Ail opens the door to the storage room, where Budou preferred to sleep the night before, but before calling for her, she swoops down from the ceiling and knocks Ail to the ground, shouting "good morning, papa~!"

She rubs her cheek against his, then says "ooh, papa, I'm hungry."

Ail chuckles as Budou gets off him, allowing him to get up, then he says "I'll fix you some breakfast while you say hi to miss Alice. She's in the living room and wants to visit Phredia."

Budou stares curiously at Alice, while Phredia comes out from under her air, yawning so widely, Ail thinks she could swallow the entire house, but prefers to keep quiet about it.

As Ail heads to the kitchen, Budou goes straight to Alice, stands in front of her, then bows elegantly, saying "good morning, miss Alice."

Alice smiles at her while she takes a seat beside her, then says "my, so polite."

Alice rubs Budou's head, causing Phredia to fly angrily toward her.

Alice flinches, then says "please, forgive me. I mean no harm, little fairy. A-anyway... little Phredia?"

Phredia lowers her guard, but continues to fly between Alice and Budou, keeping her eyes fixed on Alice. Alice then asks "are you still mad I mistook you for a doll? I'm sorry, Phredia... For that... erm, I brought something for you."

Phredia looks curiously as Shanghai and Alice rummage through one of Alice's pockets, then pull out a set of small clothes.

As Alice and Shanghai present the clothes, Ail comes with a plate of fruits for Budou, then both of them continue to quietly watch as Alice makes peace with Phredia.

Alice and Shanghai present Phredia with a set of clothes very similar to Shanghai's.

A dark blue dress with a white apron, a red ribbon, and a pair of white gloves as an extra bonus, along with some tiny underwear to fit the tiny fairy.

Phredia looks very surprised, then looks at her red dress. It's dirty and in tatters... She looks back at Alice and Shanghai, then rushes to them and gives them both a hug.

Alice smiles, then says "I hope this makes up for confusing you with a doll."

Phredia nods excitedly, then Budou says "papa, you gotta go now."

Ail looks at Budou with confusion, then asks "go? Go where?"

Budou says "papa Ail, you can't look at a girl while she's changing. Gramma Kanako said so."

Ail blushes and says "oh... right... I'll be in my room then."

Ail walks to his room with his face all red, thinking "scolded by Budou. I'm a ba~d papa!"

-

At the SDM, Meiling takes her post in front of the gate just as Yumeko lands behind some thick bushes.

She scans the area, then spots Meiling, then places her index, and middle fingers just above her ear, where she wears a small red hairpin, then says "Mai, can you hear me? Does this thing even work?"

Mai's voice replies "yes, I can hear you loud and clear... Can you call me, Colonel Mai next time?"

Yumeko smiles and says "sure, and while I'm at it, I'll fill your bed with eels from the lake. Now quit your joking and tell me where is that library."

Mai replies "alright, alright, geez..."

Mai stops talking for some time, making Yumeko worry, but before Yumeko says anything, Yuki shouts "HEY!!! Yumeko, can you really hear me!? This is so cool!!!"

Yumeko tries not to scream, as Yuki's shouting almost make her ears blow up, then angrily replies "Yuki, dammit, child, you almost blew my ears up!"

Yuki whispers "oh... sorry, sorry."

Yumeko is getting angry, then, clenching her teeth, she asks once more "where is the library!?"

Yuki says "oh, right. The library is in the basement. If you enter through the main door, you can access the basement immediately, however, you must NOT be seen. If a single fairy sees you, that gate guard will do everything to get you out, not to mention the danger of that evil maid being alerted to your presence. Is your objective clear?"

Yumeko says "tch! Who do you think I am? Anyway... I'm going in now. I'll contact you if I need you."

From behind Yuki, Shinki says "Yumeko, sweetie, we're out of milk. Could you go get some later?"

Yumeko smiles and says "of course, my lady."

Yuki says "aww, no need to call me that!"

Yuki growls "I was talking to lady Shinki!"

Yumeko lets go of the pin and enjoys an instant silence, then says to herself "should have though of that earlier.... right, let's go in."

Like a quick and clever squirrel, Yumeko climbs a tree in just a second, crawls to one of the branches closes to the other side of the gate, then jumps over the gate and lands on one of the garden's flowerbeds, but doesn't damage a single flower.

She walks away from the garden, walking like a crab, low to the ground, then realizes she's just feet away from the main entrance.

She slithers like a snake toward the door, and like magic, the door opens, then she enters as quietly as possible, then the door quietly closes behind her.

-

Meanwhile, at Ail's house, Phredia proudly twirls around, showing off her new outfit.

She looks just like Shanghai, except for her bright blond hair, her pointy ears, and the pair of small white gloves.

Alice is still sitting on the couch, her teacup empty, and only three cookies remain on the plate.

Ail sits beside her with Budou on his lap, smiling and saying "wow, Shanghai, you got some competition now."

The doll hovers quietly next to Ail with unblinking, lifeless eyes, then slaps his face hard with her tiny hand.

Ail rubs his face, feeling as though he's just been struck by Alice herself and just stares as Shanghai returns to Alice's side.

Alice giggles and says "Phredia, you look adorable. Um... I hope this makes up for... calling you a doll before..."

Alice looks away as her eyes get glassy and her smile vanishes. Lost in though, she doesn't notice Phredia glowing bright white.

After the light vanishes, Phredia goes to Alice, then gives her a kiss on the cheek, breaking Alice's train of though.

Alice looks toward Phredia, who is flying toward Budou, then sits on the little one's shoulder.

Alice smiles, then Budou smiles as well, then says "I see... Phredia is so grateful, she wishes to give you a gift... however, she asks that you are patient, miss Alice, as the gift will take three days to get here."

Alice and Ail look curiously at Phredia, then Alice says "oh, please don't worry about it. It was my pleasure."

Budou giggles and says "she says it's her way of saying thanks to you."

Alice stares curiously, but then springs up, gasps, then says "that's right! So sorry, but I must take my leave now!"

Ail says "anything I can help you with?"

Alice waves her hands in the air while saying "no, no, no, please. Um, thanks for the tea and snacks. They were delicious."

Ail places Budou where Alice was sitting before, then accompanies Alice to the door.

While she leaves, he says to her "thanks for your visit, Alice. If you need anything, let me know!"

Alice rushes outside, then, as she flies away, she twists her torso and waves her hand while saying "thanks! See you guys later!" then straightens out and flies away toward the Human Village.

Ail sighs as he closes the door to his house, and the second the door clicks, there's another knock.

Ail face-palms, takes a deep breath, then opens the door.

It's Reisen, who immediately says "hello mister Ail, how are you!?"

Ail smiles, but is unable to hide his exhausted eyes, then says "Reisen, what a nice surprise. Can I get you anything?"

Reisen immediately says "please, I need your help. See, I got this order for Master, but I can't carry it by myself, so maybe... you can help me... please?"

Reisen closes her left eye and places her hands together in front of her face, as if praying while saying this.

Ail blushes a little, then says "alright."

He turns around and asks "Budou, you want to come?"

Budou says "actually, I want to visit Hakurei sis. Is that ok?"

Ail nods and smiles, then says "alright. Please be careful out there!"

Budou smiles and nods, then quickly flies away, heading straight to the Hakurei Shrine, along with Phredia, who continues to admire her new clothes while sitting on Budou's shoulder.

Ail walks outside the house, closes the door, then says "ok, Reisen. What do you need me to carry?"

Reisen says "it's at Kourindou's. Come on, let's go!"

She flies ahead while Ail thinks "oh well, at least I get to visit Rinnosuke." then follows Reisen.

-

Budou arrives to the Hakurei Shrine in the middle of a commotion cause by Remilia and Rika.

Before Budou gets close to the entrance, she can hear Reimu shouting "what do you think I am, some sort of vampire!? Rika, I can't believe you! No, absolutely NOT!"

Remilia says "Reimu, it's an honorable ceremony, it's nothing like that."

Rika adds "ple~ase, mistress Reimu!"

Reimu replies "don't call me mistress. It makes me sound so old!"

Remilia shouts "A-HA!!! So it was YOU who called me old before!"

Reimu replies "yeah, and what are you going to do about it!"

Remilia shouts "THIS!!!"

Maribel, Renko and Mima come running from inside the shrine, Budou staring curiously, as the three look so scared, then two loud shrieks, one from Reimu, the other from Rika, then a red dagger comes flying from inside the shrine, bounces off some trees, then flies away toward the sky.

Budou and Phredia look at each other, looking very surprised, then Mima shrieks and shouts "EEEEEE! Budou~!"

In a blink of the eyes, Budou finds herself in the hands of Mima, the supposedly Evil Spirit, who gives her a tight hug, then brushes her hair with her fingers.

Budou calmly says "mommy 2, you scared me!"

Mima gets a nosebleed, then with a smile, she says "I'm sorry, deary, you're just so cute!"

Maribel and Renko get closer, then Budou exclaims "cute kitty, bookworm 2!"

Maribel giggles and says "Budou, how are you? Did you come all the way over here on your own?"

Budou smiles and says "yup. I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself..."

Budou smiles as she turns to Phredia, then says "right?"

Phredia nods, then Mima shrieks again, grabs Phredia, then rubs her on her face, saying "so adorable, so cute, I wanna eat you up!"

Annoyed, Phredia gives Mima a little shock, so Mima lets her go with a quick yelp and saying "aww, you don't like me?"

Renko says "even I found that to be annoying."

Before Mima replies, and explosion from inside the shrine startles everyone, and causes Budou to flap her wings violently, trying to escape to safety.

With her face full of wing marks, Mima holds Budou tightly and says "shh, shh, I got you, I won't let them hurt you."

Budou slowly calms down, then Phredia stands on her shoulder, then pats Budou's cheek.

Inside, Reimu shouts "you try that again and I'll POUND YOU!"

Rika shouts "my lady, don't! Let me do it for you!"

Remilia shouts "stop getting in the WAY!"

Reimu shouts "hey, you can't yell at her like that!"

Rika excitedly shouts "my lady~!"

Remilia says "hey, I'm trying to HELP here!"

Reimu replies "I didn't ASK for it!"

Maribel sweats, then says "I think we better head to the village... things here are a little heated up at the time."

Renko nods, then says "agreed."

Mima, who is still holding Budou, nods and says "let's go then. I'll take Budou with me."

Budou sighs and while facing Phredia, who flies in front of her face, says "I just wanted to see Hakurei sis..."

-

At the SDM, Yumeko, wearing a white bandanna on her head, hides behind some bookshelves, trying to stay as far away from Patchouli and Koakuma as possible, while looking for books on Gensokyo's culture.

"Bingo" whispers Yumeko, as she finds various volumes with Gensokyo's name on them.

She grabs them as quickly as she can, placing them inside a brown bag, then heads toward the door.

Just before exiting, she places her index and middle finger on the communication pin, then whispers "Mai.... Mai, can you hear me?"

Mai replies "so unprofessional. It's 'do you copy?', not 'can you hear me?'."

Yumeko whispers "looks like someone wants to skip dinner tonight."

Mai desperately replies "sorry, sorry, please don't be mad!"

Yumeko sighs and whispers "look, I got the books. I'm heading out right now."

There's a noise on Mai's side, then Yuki says "GREAT! Don't lower your guard. It's noon! That maid should be around there right now. Just keep out of sight, and if you think you've been spotted, hide for at least 100 seconds, understood?"

Yumeko whispers "you should lay off the sugar. I'm heading out."

Yuki replies "good luck".

Low to the ground, Yumeko crawls toward the exit of the mansion, but her dismay, a fairy maid spots her.

A large red exclamation mark pops just above the faerie's head, startling her and making her fly away.

Yumeko witness this and says "shit, I've been found out!"

She gets up and runs toward a conveniently placed locker, getting inside as quickly as she can.

Various fairy maids fly in group formations of 3, looking around for the intruder.

Yumeko waits until all the fairies in the area disband, then continue their labors.

Just as Yumeko leaves the locker, Yuki says "Yumeko, do you copy?"

Yumeko ducks and places her index and middle finger on the pin, then says "yes, what is it now!?"

Yuki asks "do you think I'd look good in purple?"

Yumeko's lips wiggle as she looks up in disbelief, her bandanna sweating as well, then gets up without answering Yuki and a knife flies just next to her, striking the red communication pin.

From it, Yuki shouts "Yumeko!? Can you hear me? ...Yumeko!? YUMEKOOOOOOO!!!"

Shinki shout "Yuki~, lunch is ready~! We're having meat buns~!"

Yuki says "YUMM~! I'm coming~!"

Yumeko hears the entire conversation, then thinks "so much for being worried."

In front of Yumeko stands Sakuya, tapping the hilt of her knife on her arm, as she holds herself while staring at Yumeko and saying "what is it that you want? I've already disposed of that fire witch, and now I find you, stealing books as well. What are you up to?"

Yumeko doesn't answer.

Sakuya raises her guard,then says "fine, be that way. Let's go, then."

Yumeko smiles and says "last time, I only had half of my power. Now, you will face me at full power!"

Yumeko materializes 6 short swords, three at each side, then says "once I'm done here, I'm taking these books to my lady. Don't worry, I'm returning them when we're done reading."

Sakuya smiles, but doesn't respond, standing ready for attack.

-

Sakuya immediately launches three knives toward Yumeko, who rolls to the left, avoiding the knives and sending 5 short swords straight as Sakuya, who uses her knives to deflect the swords.

Yumeko tries again with her swords, mixing them with danmaku knives, but Sakuya teleports behind Yumeko, however, the blond maid kicks behind herself, thwarting Sakuya's attack.

Sakuya manages to avoid the kick with a back-flip along with a knife toss that tears through Yumeko's long skirt.

Yumeko growls and says "alright, now you've done it!"

Yumeko tightens her white bandanna, then says "get ready for my attack. Don't worry, the pain will only last for a few seconds... unless you're too stubborn."

Yumeko screams and generates various short swords around herself, then prepares a large laser and various danmaku orbs.

Sakuya prepares for some heavy dodging, but Yumeko's attack fizzles out, the short swords turn to tiny kitchen knives, the laser does absolutely nothing, and her danmaku orbs disappear.

Yumeko's eyes get covered by her hair and cast in shadow, leaving her mouth wide open after her attack fails like it did.

Sakuya stares are her, then says "well that was disappointing."

Sakuya pulls out a spell card from under her apron and says "guess It's my turn."

Yumeko smacks her forehead very hard, making Sakuya worry and shouts "HEY!! Don't hurt yourself like that!"

Yumeko ignores Sakuya, then says "Yumeko, YUMEKO! Spell cards! You use SPELL CARDS now. Dummy, dummy, DUMMY!"

Sakuya sweats and says "what is it with these maids! No elegance whatsoever!"

Yumeko pulls out a spell card from under her apron, saying "ok, ok, this time for real, ok?"

Sakuya shrugs and says "whatever, I just want to finish cleaning before the mistress wake up."

Yumeko raises her spell card above her head and shouts "Dream Sign - And it Came From Nowhere"

Yumeko traps Sakuya in a state of dream and fires various short swords from the left and right.

The swords start moving toward Sakuya, trailing along more and more swords as they move toward her.

Sakuya tries to move, but feels as though she can't move at all.

Yumeko starts firing large green energy orbs in wide arcs and a pair of green lasers.

Sakuya is now able to move and does so just as the short swords get close.

She realizes there are too many short swords to both sides. She flinches just as one of the swords stabs her, then she realizes she doesn't feel any pain.

Quickly, she realizes some of the short swords are reflecting light, while others look dull.

She says "I see. You are making me think there are more swords than there really are. Clever."

Yumeko says "there are still plenty swords to go around!"

Sakuya sighs as Yumeko unleashes another arc of green orbs, followed by two green lasers that trap Sakuya between the two, hindering her room for dodging.

Sakuya lazily flies toward Yumeko, throws her spell card in the air, making it spin in front of her, then says "Cutting Sign - Inscribe Red Soul"

Sakuya moves her hands so fast, they look like a blur, going back, forth, left and right.

Along the blur, blue beams that strike Yumeko quite hard, giving her some cuts and bruises all over her body.

The white bandanna gets cut off, and Yumeko lies defeated on the floor, whispering "s-sorry my lady."

Sakuya then says "I'll take those books back now. The fairy maids will show you out, and please, don't come again."

Yumeko sighs, gets up, and says "fine... fine. Might as well get the milk, then."

Just like that, Sakuya and Yumeko wave at each other, then walk away, the fairies escorting Yumeko outside, taking the cut bandanna and handing it to Yumeko just as she leaves through the door.

-

After returning Patchouli's books, Sakuya heads to her mistress' room to wake her up, as per usual.

She reaches her mistress' bedroom, but before opening the doors she makes sure she's presentable; she straightens her skirt, her apron, even her hair, then softly knocks on the door whispering "my lady, it's time to wake up."

She looks inside and quickly realizes Remilia's bed is empty.

She stands on the open doorway, staring straight toward her mistress' empty bed, then, absent-minded, she says "my lady..."

She stands there for about 30 more seconds, then a silver washtub falls on her head, making a loud clang upon impact, making Sakuya twitch and crouch on the ground, holding her head in pain.

She springs up, looking angry and holding a few daggers on her hand, looking everywhere for the culprit, but she can't even find the washtub, but then she looks toward Remilia's bed again, then shout "MY LADY!!!" then disappears in an instant.

Koakuma pops her head from the top-side of the doorway, smiles mischievously, drops to the ground, then grabs her washtub and happily walks away, whistling.

-

Renko, Maribel, Budou, Phredia and Mima arrive to the Human Village and immediately head to Kyo's house.

Upon arrival, Medicine, who sits on the house's porch, says "they're all over there." and points to her left.

Two house away, Alice, Marisa, Kyo, Ran, Chen and Luna all work hard on finishing Renko and Maribel's house.

Although it looks small on the outside, it's quite spacious on the inside.

Maribel giggles as she looks at the lilac-colored roof and their house, which is just about finished.

Renko says "wow, I'm impressed."

Mima looks at it and thinks "I could haunt some villagers from here."

Kyo comes from inside the house, looking a bit dirty and sweaty, spots Maribel and Renko, then shouts "heh-hey~! Maribel, Renko! We're almost done here. Alice wants to make sure Marisa doesn't burn the curtains, Luna's making sure Alice doesn't kill Marisa, and Ran is making sure we don't blow up the house again."

Renko sweats and Maribel forces a smile and a weak giggle, then asks "are you sure you don't want us to help?"

Kyo says "look, it was our fault your first house got destroyed, so this time WE will build this for you."

Renko casually says "well, as long as we get to live in it this time, I don't mind."

Budou flies straight toward Kyo very suddenly, making him take a few steps back as she clings on him, shouting "LARGE BROTHER~!"

Kyo manages to stay on his feet, looking slightly annoyed, but looking at Budou happily hugging him, he sighs and says "hello, Budou, how are you...? Wait, that's strange. Where's Ail?"

Budou says "papa is helping the rabbit, so I came to visit on my own."

From inside, Luna shouts "Kyo~, the wall... EEK!"

Kyo quickly puts Budou down, then rushes inside the house.

Ran and Chen continue to scan around the outside of the house, when Chen spots Budou, pulls on Ran's skirt, then points at Budou while whispering something.

Ran walks toward her just as Phredia starts flying just above Budou's head.

Maribel, who is next to Budou, bows and says "lady Ran, so nice to see you."

Ran bows respectfully, then says "Maribel, it's been a while. How are you?"

While Maribel, Ran and Renko have a small casual conversation, Chen curiously approaches Budou, then asks "who are you?"

Budou's face turns a little red as she turns her face away and softly says "I-I'm Budou..."

Chen tries to follow Budou's face, trying to look into her eyes, but Budou keeps turning away.

Phredia edges Budou to look at Chen, who says "what's the matter, Budou? Are you sick?"

Budou raises her violet eyes to meet Chen's, but quickly turns away, then Chen says "my name is Chen. Wanna be my friend?"

Budou keeps looking away as she nods, then Chen says "ok, then I want you to look at me, ok?"

Budou slowly raises her sight and sees Chen's smile, then she smiles back as well.

Chen continues to smile and says "see? Now we can be friends for real, right?"

Budou nods as she continues to smile at Chen.

Ran takes notice of Budou and Chen, then asks "oh, Chen. Who's your new friend?"

When both Chen and Budou stare at Ran with their smiling faces, Ran blows a stream of blood from her nose, then covers her nose with her hand, struggling to keep on her feet.

-

After managing to compose herself, Ran realizes Mima snuggling both Chen and Budou, then says "ugh, what is SHE doing here?"

Maribel smiles as she says "oh, you know... we couldn't get her to let go of Budou."

Ran's eyes twitch as she tries her best not to scowl, then, forcing a smile, she asks "so, Budou. You live with Ail, right?"

From Mima's grasp, Budou nods and says "y-yeah. Sometimes I go with mama, sis, and gramma too."

Ran looks confused at Maribel and Renko, then Renko answers "Sanae and the two goddesses."

Maribel adds "the green miko."

Ran says "Ah, ok, I remember now. The ones on Youkai Mountain."

Renko and Maribel nod, then Ran's ears twitch under her hat.

She looks back to Mima and spots 3 of the village's children staring at her.

Mima lets go of Chen and Budou, allowing them to run away from her and getting behind Ran.

Mima looks at the children without interest, then says "if you kids want the great Mima's autograph, I am sorry, but I don't give those for free."

The two boys and the girl stare quietly, then Mima turns around, saying "well, whatever. Go play somewhere else, I'm busy now."

One of the boys says "see? I told you, she's a ghost!"

The girl says "she's too pretty to be a ghost."

Mima blushes and smiles widely when she hears this, but the second boy says "don't be stupid. Mom says ghosts are old and only look nice, so they can EAT you."

The girl replies "ooh~"

Mima get's annoyed, but doesn't say anything. The first boy then says "this one looks older than that!"

The second boy says "maybe she looks like grandma without that mask on."

The girl giggles and says "let's make her pull it off."

The children giggle as they run toward Mima, who can't take anymore, then, with a popping sound, turns her ghostly tail into a gigantic black widow's abdomen.

She laughs maniacally and says "SO~, calling me old, are you!? TAKE THIS, MUAHAHAHAA~"

The children scream as Mima chase them for a bit, then, after they are gone, she pops the spider body back to her ghostly tail, then shouts "that's it, you little brats, you RUN! I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!"

Mima sighs with a smile, then says "now, where are my cuties... eh?"

Chen and Budou are hugging each other as tightly as they can, trembling at the sight of Mima and trying to hide behind Ran.

Ran says "now look what you did! You scared them out of their wits."

Mima smiles as she gets closer to the girls and says "aww, you know I wouldn't hurt you, right?"

Mima extends her hand toward Budou, who starts to cry when Mima's just about to touch her, making Phredia come out of hiding and pushes Mima's hand away.

Mima says "oh, come on... it's me, mama number 2! Right, Chen?"

She tries to pat Chen, but the nekomata hisses at her, then buries her face under one of Ran's tails.

Ran strikes Mima on the head, saying "don't scare them like that!"

Mima stutters "but-but I-I"

From behind comes Sanae and strikes Mima hard with her gohei and angrily says "don't make her cry, you mean old hag!"

Budou flies toward Sanae in an instant, crying "mama~! She scared me~!"

Sanae pats Budou's back as Budou places her face on Sanae's shoulder and cries.

Sanae says "there, there, it's alright. Mama's here!"

Chen and Ran do the same, Ran blushing and smiling contently, then both Sanae and Ran say "you should be ashamed of yourself!" then walk to the house, away from Mima.

Renko sighs, then follows the others while Maribel walks to Mima, pats her shoulder, then says "there, there, miss Mima. It's gonna be alright."

Mima sits on the ground, her eyes hidden under a dark shadow and strands of her hair, whimpering "Budou~... kitty~..."

-

At Entei, Ail lands on the ground carrying 8 large boxes on his back, while Reisen carries 4 more.

One of the boxes on Ail has a small tear and seem to have some moisture around that it.

Ail manages to slither from under the heavy boxes and says "huh... someone made Budou cry... ah, but Sanae took care of it. She's so amazing" then smiles.

Reisen stares curiously at Ail, then asks "how do you even know all that?"

Ail says "parental bond" From inside the mansion comes Eirin and says "this bond works, even if you aren't really related. Well, Udonge, you took a little longer than I thought but... wait"

Eirin spots the torn box with the moisture around the tear, then says "oh-ho ho, what do we have here. Sloppy... very sloppy work, Udonge. You'll have to be punished for this."

Reisen whimpers and trembles as Eirin walks to her with a tenderly dangerous smile on her face.

Ail gets in the way, glaring angrily at Eirin and saying "hey, HOLD IT! That box over there was me!"

Eirin looks surprised at Ail. Reisen blushes a little, then looks to the ground.

Eirin then says "hmm, well you'll have to pay for the bottle you broke."

Ail takes out some money and asks "how much?"

Eirin smiles wickedly and says "I think you know what I want."

Ail sweats and says "crap.... alright... just don't go hurting Reisen because of my own mistakes!"

Eirin wraps her arm around Ail's neck as they both head to her clinic, then says "such a gentleman. You're a dying breed, you know?"

Ail replies "yeah, yeah, let's just do this already... You know how much I despise those needles."

Reisen looks on as Ail is taken away into the clinic, then blushes again, this time smiling as she stares straight at them.

She gets startled when Eirin shouts "Udonge, bring those over here, will you?"

Reisen perks up and says "r-right away Master!" then grabs one of the boxes and walks toward the clinic.

-

At Maribel and Renko's new house, a home-warming party brightens the village.

Even some of the neighbors join in.

Reimu walks toward the house and notices Mima, still depressed, her eyes in shadows and whimpering "I scared them~"

Reimu ignores her and goes inside, where Maribel smiles as she greets her, saying "REIMU~ WELCOME!"

Reimu smiles and says "wow, your house is so beautiful. Much roomier than the one you were building before too."

Kyo, who is already a bit drunk, says "yeah, well this one is built by friends, so it's EXTRA special, don't you agree! Woo-hoo!"

Luna walks to Reimu, bows, smiles and says "refreshments and snacks are at the table over there, and please, enjoy yourself."

Reimu says "thank you, Luna. And how are things for you?"

Luna says "oh, well... you know."

Reimu winks and says "just give it some time."

Maribel gets closer and asks "and how did you manage to get away from those two, miss Reimu?"

Reimu giggles and says "I left a decoy. They should be distracted for some time."

At the Hakurei Shrine, Remilia and Rika are having a tug-of-war over a Reimu doll, Remilia shouting "let go! She left it for ME!"

Rika shouts back "are you mad!? She left it here for ME!"

Sakuya stands by the doorway and sighs at the sight, but obediently stays put.

Back at the party, Reimu feels something odd. Maribel notices immediately, then signals Renko to follow.

When all three come outside they are surprised to find Shikieiki and Komachi, wearing casual clothing, smiling while standing next to the house.

Reimu sighs and says "well, this is an odd sight."

-

Sitting outside with some cups of Sake in their hands, Reimu, Shiki and Komachi have a small conversation.

Reimu takes a small sip from her cup and says "ok, out with it."

Shiki and Komachi stare at her in surprise, then Komachi asks "are you drunk already?"

Reimu says "I am sure you didn't come here to just mingle amongst us. Is there an incident going on? Do I have to change something? What?"

Shiki chuckles and says "relax, Reimu. No, this time we are actually just visiting. In fact, we are on vacation."

Reimu calms down, takes another sip of sake, then asks "do yamas even get vacations?"

Shiki chuckles again and says "well, actually we do, but in this case..."

Komachi says "let me explain, Shiki-sama."

Shiki nods, then Komachi continues. "Shiki-sama and I have been suspended, so to speak, for helping you guys out so much."

Reimu stares for a moment, then says "I see. Telling us about those events, interfering with Ail's fate, helping us see the error of our ways..."

Shiki sighs and says "do not feel guilty. We helped you because we wanted to, and we knew something like this would happen, so it's nobody's fault."

Ail, who is now sitting besides Komachi, says "I see."

All stare at him, then Reimu says "well, what kept you?"

Ail sweats and says "well, you know... stuff. Anyway, what are you planning to do during your time off?"

Shiki smiles and says "I think a few days of rest should be good enough for me. What about you, Komachi?"

Komachi giggles and says "I follow my Shiki-sama wherever she goes."

Shiki smiles, then says "then I guess you'll be doing the same as in work, huh?"

All 4 laugh at the same time, but stop laughing the moment a villager from afar shouts "AAAHH~ GHOST!" then Mima's maniacal laughter, shouting "fear the evil spirit, MUAHAHAHAHA~"

Ail sighs and notices Reimu staring at him.

He smiles and says "fine, but after this I'm taking Budou back home and going to sleep."

Reimu chuckles and says "come on... before something really serious happens."

Both Reimu and Ail fly away toward the racket, then, while watching them fly away, Komachi asks "Shiki-sama? Do you know who our replacements are?"

Shiki looks at the orange noon sky and says "you know we're not allowed to know, right?"

Komachi chuckles, take a gulp of sake from her cup, then smiles and says "just curious."

-

At the Sanzu River, a little girl's voice says "before you can come in, you HAVE to play with me, ok?"

The spirit hovers silently as Flandre Scarlet giggles, then starts shooting large energy orbs at it.

After the dust clears, Flandre says "aw, you guys are no fun... fine, let's take you across then."

Behind her, dozens of spirits, all looking damaged and dirty, almost unable to float at all.

Flandre grabs all the spirits she can and gets on the wooden boat with them.

She looks around and asks "so, anyone of you know how this thing moves?"

The poor spirits, unable to even hover, stay as quiet as ever.

Flandre giggles and says "no matter... I'll just do THIS!"

Flandre fires a concentrated blast that sends the boat speeding across the water, knocking a few spirits off the boat in the process.

At the court-room Rumia sits on Shiki's chair, wearing her hat and holding her sword, then says "you mean little spirit. You tried to hunt me down when I was hungry, so~, for that you got to HELL!!!"

The little spirit looks surprised, but then looks down as it slowly flies to the door to hell.

Agava, who sits next to Rumia, says "maybe you were a little too rough on that poor spirit."

Rumia asks "is that so~?"

She bangs the wooden desk with the sword and says "send in the next one!"

A small spirit, looking almost ill, enters the room and stops in front of Rumia's desk.

Rumia looks into Shiki's mirror and says "let's see here... oh, you were that kind old man that gave me that piece of meat. It was so delicious. Ok, you can go to-"

Agava says "pst, Rumia." She whispers into Rumia's ear "look a little more into that mirror... he called you a fat pig.. look, right there!"

Rumia smiles, stares at the spirit, then, while swinging the sword at the spirit, she shouts "to hell, to hell, TO HELL!!!"

The little spirit slowly hovers to the door to hell, then Agava says "whoops, my mistake. He said he would like to eat one fat pig. Sorry about that."

Rumia smiles, then asks "is that so~?" then smacks Agava on the head with the sword.

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou, Phredia, Kyo, Luna, Agava and Yumeko's spell cards were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by snapshot 2010

Some assistance by snapshot 2010

NOV 3 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**I'm running of OC descriptions,so I hope you are enjoying them, and I hope they are helping you visualize the characters a little better. Anyway, here's the next one:**

Budou (as named by Ail)

A 100 year old fruit bat who was very recently turned into youkai, due to Ail and Maribel's Makai gap energy residue. She lives with Ail and sometimes visits Sanae and the goddesses. She is very young and has forgotten most of her past, except her age and some flashbacks of needles and experiments done on her. She accidentally got caught on Reimu's "Fantasy Seal" spell and was sent to another Makai, which is accessible though the outside world, on a known icy mountain. She loves to eat fruits, however her favorite of all fruits are the grapes, and thus was named after her favorite food by Ail. Calls Ail papa and Sanae mama.

Her eyes are violet, but have no pupil. Has long teal hair and small, but sharp fangs and has large brown bat wings that are the exact same length and width of her own body, which she uses to cover herself while she sleeps, and also has small sharp claws on her hands and feet. Wears a light-brown dress with 2 large black buttons that hold the chest area closed, a frilly teal apron on top of her skirt, a small white bow on the left side of her head, and wears small fluffy black slippers when she decides to wear something. Mostly, she's barefoot since she hates shoes. Ail manages to sometimes convince her to wear a pair of pink socks when she's not wearing shoes. She's half the size of Ail and Sanae, and her eyes show only innocence.


	9. Chapter 8

Crack of dawn. Ail is finally sleeping comfortably in his bed, while Budou sleeps in the living room's ceiling, covering herself and Phredia, who sleeps in her hair, with her bat wings.

Everything is calm and quiet in Gensokyo, and even the spirits seems to be at peace.

In Makai, all that peace is just about to end.

Shinki and Yumeko wake up as usual, although Yumeko keeps staring apologetically at Shinki, who smiles and says "child, I already told you, I'm not angry. Besides, going myself might prove to be fun."

Yumeko doesn't respond, then, they continue to walk toward the main hall.

Once there, Shinki sits on her chair and takes a breath of air, ready to say some words, then a bloody scream of pure horror echoes all over the palace.

Shinki jumps off her chair, looking ready for a fight, saying "that was Yuki! Yumeko, get ready!"

Yumeko stands beside her mistress and says "ready, my lady!"

They get ready to move as quickly as possible to Yuki's room, but they hear her footsteps getting closer, Yuki crying "NOOOO~~~!!! Get away form me-he-hee~!"

The door bursts open and Yuki, running so fast, she trails dust behind her as she runs straight behind Shinki and cries "help mee~!"

After Yuki, hovering with an evil smile on her face, is Mima, carrying a pink dress and a brown cat-ears head-band.

Mima smiles wickedly and says "come o~~n! You'll look so ADORABLE in these!!!"

Yumeko sweats and says "wait, all that ruckus for THIS? Yuki, what the hell's the MATTER with you!? You almost gave us a heart attack!"

Yuki whimpers "*sniffle* she popped from inside my belly with that... PINK DRESS!!! WAAAAHHHHH!!!"

Mima, who continues to smile like a maniac, says "come on, it's just for a little while! I won't bite, I promise!"

Shinki smiles and says "Yuki, you should try it. Who knows, maybe you'll look cute in pink!"

Yuki petrifies, then turns her petrified face to Shinki's and says "y-you... two... mama?"

Shinki sweats and says "oh, come on, it's just-"

Yuki jumps away from Shinki and cries "WAAAAA~H I don't believe thi~s!" then, crying and sobbing, she runs away toward the exit of the palace.

Shinki, worriedly, says "oh dear. Yumeko, please make sure she's ok, will you?"

Yumeko bows elegantly, placing her hand on her chest, and says "right away, my lady." then vanishes in an instant.

Mima stares at Shinki, now looking more normal, then asks "will you wear this?"

Shinki blushes and says "oh, why not!?"

Shinki wears a puffy and frilly pink dress full of rose ribbons and the cat-ears, then sits on Mima's lap.

Mima's nose is bleeding a lot, but she seems comfortable with it.

Yumeko, holding a camera and bleeding through her nose, looking quite content and taking as many pictures as possible from a small crack on the door, whispers "I'll have to thank that spirit later!"

Yuki continues to tremble and says "pink... it's pink... I hate pink!"

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu wakes up, feeling a bit groggy and tired, but forces herself to get up and off her futon, then heads outside.

She scans the inside of the shrine and thinks "Renko and Maribel are gone. I... I never though I'd miss them so much."

She feels a strong tug in her heart, but holds back the tears that want to come out, then she realizes Rika isn't there either.

Her heart starts beating faster as she opens her eyes wide, looking everywhere inside for her, but she doesn't even see the futon.

Reimu rushes outside and shouts "Rika!?"

Rika pops her head from the front of the shrine, smiles and says "lady Reimu! Good morning!"

Rika notices Reimu's expression and asks "l-lady Reimu, are you feeling well?"

She rushes to Reimu and immediately holds her shoulders, taking her inside and sitting her by the table, saying "I'll get you some breakfast. You just rest"

Reimu takes a deep breath and says "thank you... Rika."

In just a few minutes, Rika finishes preparing the meal, then, as she serves it to Reimu, she says "so... lady Reimu... about that oath."

Reimu coughs a little, looking quite annoyed, then says "not again. Rika, that ceremony is barbaric, I'm not doing it!"

Startling Reimu, Remilia springs from her left and says "come on, Reimu, you know you want to!"

Reimu exclaims "Remilia!? When did YOU get here!?"

Remilia looks straight into Reimu's eyes and says "Reimu, you GOTTA do it! If not, anyone can take Rika away from you!"

Rika shouts "I'd NEVER DO THAT! No way, no HOW!!!"

Remilia gets closer to Rika and whispers "play along, you idiot!"

Rika catches on and says "oh..."

Reimu seems lost in though for a moment. Rika and Remilia stare for some time, then Reimu says "or, I'm sorry, did you want something?"

Remilia and Rika look at each other, then both nod and say "together now."

Both jump on Reimu, who grabs her bowl of rice as she slides under the table, causing Remilia and Rika to crash against each other, both rubbing their heads as they get up, Remilia shouting "this isn't over!"

Reimu completely ignores her and goes to the shrine's porch to eat her rice as Remilia says "I don't care how long it takes, I'll convince you!" She turns to Rika and asks "right!?"

Rika smiles as she lies on the floor, admiring Reimu as she walks away, and says "my mistress is so wonderful, don't you think?!"

At first, Remilia looks back at her disgusted, but then turns her face away and thinks "She's so cute too."

-

For the course of two days, Rika and Remilia tried everything to convince Reimu to do that ceremony.

Popping from inside the bath-tub during her mid-day bath, writing messages on her food, cleaning until everything sparkles inside and outside, stalking her while she takes on some wild and dangerous youkai, Rika unable to bear watching and helping her mistress out using those wind blades of hers, trying to sleep with her inside her futon, Sakuya picking up Remilia while she tries to fight back.

The next day, Remilia is already in the shrine by the time Reimu wakes up in the morning.

Reimu stares at her and says "no!"

Rika comes with a vegetable stew and manages to write in it "my lady and I forever"

This creeps Reimu out, but she's hungry, so the eats the writing.

Remilia goes as far as enlisting Aya's help, convincing her to write an article on the master and servant oath ceremony and using an unwilling Sakuya to reveal some details about hers with Remilia's.

Reimu grabs the paper and roaring furiously, she turns it into a ball, then tosses it as far away as she can.

Finally, noon. Rika and Remilia are beat and running out of ideas.

Rika is just about to give up, then Remilia says "hey... why don't you fake defeat."

Rika looks at her curiously, then says "but miss Remilia, I can't do that to my lady. It's too mean."

Remilia gets up from the ground and shouts "so that's IT!? You're just gonna give up!? After all I've done here to help YOU!?"

Rika sighs and says "I appreciate your help, but it's just not in me to fake these things."

Remilia smirks and says "oh, so you can't fake it, huh? Then allow me to help you with that."

Remilia kicks Rika's back, sending her flying toward the donation box, then shouts "you FAILURE! You DARE call yourself a MAID! HAH, how PATHETIC. You can't even convince your master to do the oath with you. Pheh! You make me SICK. You FAILURE, you quitter, you LIAR! Stop calling yourself a maid right now, before you stain the name. Yeah YOU HEARD ME!"

Just then, Sakuya comes from behind, holding her mistress' umbrella and saying "my lady, I think that's enough!"

Sakuya points at Rika, who kneels in front of the donation box, her eyes turning red and glassy, her mouth trembling as she sniffles, then suddenly starts bawling loud.

Remilia gulps and says "er, Sakuya, let's hide."

Sakuya says "good idea, my lady"

Sakuya and Remilia rush to hide behind some trees and watch as Reimu rushes to Rika.

Reimu rushes to Rika, shouting "RIKA!"

She kneels beside Rika and brushes her wavy hair with her fingers and asks "Rika, what's wrong?"

Rika continues to cry, but doesn't respond.

Reimu says "I'll get you some water!"

Rika manages to say "NO~~! I failed you again~! WAAAAH~~!"

Reimu asks "failed?"

Rika sniffles and says "my-my lady, I have failed so miserably. I can't be your maid if you don't do the oath ceremony. I'm a FAILURE~!!"

Rika bawls again, then Reimu shouts "whoa, whoa, Rika, stop it!"

Rika continues to cry large waterfalls. Reimu looks around, hoping to find something to cheer Rika up, but finds nothing, then shouts "alright, ALRIGHT!!! I'll do it!"

Rika sniffles and asks "wha?"

Reimu repeats "*sigh" I'll do it... I'll do the ceremony."

Rika smiles angelically, her eyes still glassy as she places her hands together as if praying, then says "my lady! THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

Rika lunges at Reimu and give her a big hug.

Reimu says "alright, that's enough... We'll have to get some witnesses, right?"

Rika says "of course, my lady! Leave that to me!"

Reimu says "fine... I'll just... be inside getting ready."

Rika springs up and salutes Reimu, saying "yes, my lady!"

As soon as Reimu leaves, Rika heads straight toward Remilia and asks "so, was I convincing?"

Remilia and Sakuya stare at each other in disbelief, then look back at Rika, who stands smiling at them.

-

It's now a beautiful night and everything is prepared for Reimu and Rika's master and servant oath ceremony.

Attending the event are Ail, Budou, Sanae, Kanako, Suwako, Mima, Kyo, Luna, Medicine, Renko, Maribel, Sakuya, Suika and Remilia, who's helping Reimu memorize the chant, telling her she's not supposed to read from a paper.

Uninvited, but still there, is Aya, who continues to take pictures at random.

Everything is set, most of the witnesses have gathered, and Reimu and Rika stand in front of the red gate of the shrine, ready to begin the ceremony.

At the left side of the shrine, on the porch, are Mima, Kyo, Suika and Kanako, all a little drunk, smiling and laughing at jokes.

They all keep silent when Suika whispers "oh, it's starting."

Mima stares at Budou, who is on Sanae's arms and whispers "Budou~"

She lets go of the empty sake bottle she was holding on to, letting it roll away.

Reimu and Rika stand in the center of a circle made with torches, then Reimu and Rika elegantly bow to each other upon facing each other.

Rika kneels in front of Reimu, kisses the back of her right hand, then Reimu chants "Now, I thus declare this human being, a defiant of both soul and body, as servant of both honor and high.... c-caliber."

From the sides, Remilia smacks her own head, whispering "ugh, she almost forgot her line."

Reimu continues "My soul and body will remember this pact, and thus, shall it be sealed by the blood... the blood of the chosen *gulps* master."

Reimu holds a small knife to her index finger, thinking "this is so barbaric"

She hesitates and seems as though she's going to back down, but that's when Remilia's dagger, the same one she fired at Reimu three days before, comes flying from the night skies with one of Mystia's feathers, half of a sunflower and an autographed picture of Akyuu that reads "I am alive and well. Please remember me!"

Reimu spots the dagger and is just about to dodge out of it's way, but Mima's sake bottle makes her slip, making her let go of her knife and raise her hand in the air, cutting precisely on her fingertip, then Reimu waves her hand and a drop of blood falls right on Rika's lips, just as she looks up to her master and stops her from falling to the ground.

Reimu smiles along with Rika as they both look at each other, then both start giggling.

Reimu composes herself and says "oh, here! A small gift from me to you."

Reimu rummages through her pocket and pulls out a small sapphire yin-yang orb.

Rika smiles widely as Reimu gives her the orb and says "with this, you'll be able to fly, and trust me, you'll be needing to, if you want to be successful with the chores."

Rika continues to smile widely, but then, both Reimu and Rika shriek as Reimu's hand starts to glow, and Rika's pocket as well.

Rika pulls out her spell card and realizes the chains on it break apart, leaving the yin-yang symbol free.

Rika watches curiously, then whispers "Oath Keeper"

For a moment, the card glows and tries to fly away from Rika's hand, but it stops as soon as Rika turns her attention to Reimu, who shouts "WHAT IS THI~~S!"

On the back of Reimu's hand, a pair of white feather wings magically materialize on her hand, to her surprise.

Remilia chuckles and says to Sakuya "heh heh, it seems I failed to mention that to Reimu."

Sakuya smiles and says "my lady is so playful."

-

Remilia ducks on the ground, holding her head and rubbing a bump on her head, left by Reimu, who wasn't amused by Remilia's lack of information.

Rika and Reimu head to Ail, Budou and Sanae, Rika wearing the sapphire yin-yang on her neck ribbon.

Ail extends his hand to Rika as Reimu says "this is Ail, the strange boy I told you about."

Rika bows as she shakes his hands, saying "it's a pleasure to meet you, mister Ail."

Ail sweats a little and forces a smile as he says "I'm not that strange."

Rika tightens her grip on Ail's hand, smiling dangerously and saying "don't question my lady!"

She lets go of Ail, who sweats but doesn't reply to Rika, then Reimu says to her "and these are Sanae and Budou"

Rika bows, and says "how do you do, miss Sanae. And my, what a cute little girl you are, little Budou"

Rika rubs Budou's head, making her giggle, and that's when Aya shouts "ALRIGHT EVERYONE! Let's all take a picture together to remember this day!"

Everyone except Reimu cheer, then Aya thinks "heh heh heh~, this should make for a GREAT story."

Everybody groups up, Reimu, Rika, Ail, Sanae and Budou close to each other.

Aya shouts "ready in 1, 2, 3!"

Aya takes the picture, but before everyone goes their ways, she says "WAIT, WAIT, one more, just one more!"

All groan as Aya gets ready to take the picture.

Rika says to Ail "so, mister Ail. I hear you can break gaps in barriers like Yukari."

Ail blushes and says "Yukari has much more experience than me."

Rika replies "oh... but can't you show me?"

Ail says "sure. Actually, I just think of someplace, or some dimension I want to open, like say, the shadow realm. I concentrate on the destination, grab the barrier with my magic, then..."

Just as Ail opens the gap to the shadow realm, exactly where his gap is opening up, Yukari opens her gap, shouting "HI EVERYONE~!!"

Yukari shrieks loudly as she is sucked into her own gap, then, with sharp jagged teeth, it starts chewing on her.

Yukari scream "KYAAH~! Help...me....AIL~!"

Just then Aya takes the picture while everyone look surprised at Yukari being chewed by a gap, Reimu face-palming herself, Rika trying to smile and everyone else either backing away or trying to run away.

Aya shouts "YIKES! What the HECK is that!!?"

Reimu shouts "I'll get it!"

The gap says "BLECH!" then spits Yukari out, covered in drool and cuts.

Yukari springs up and shouts "REIMU NO! That's a Random Sukima!"

Reimu tries to place some charms on it, but the Random Sukima gobbles her, chews a little, then with a "Mm-MMM" it swallows Reimu.

Rika shouts "MASTER!!!" Yukari shouts back "Rika, she's at the sunflower fields, go GET HER!!!"

Rika nods,and as if already knowing how, she flies to the night's skies.

Yukari continues shouting "AIL YOU IDIOT, what the HELL were you doing!?"

Ail replies "close it now, explain later!"

Sanae lets go of Budou and says "fly away!"

Behind Budou comes Mima, shouting "I'll take care of her!"

-

Suwako rushes to Sanae, Yukari and Ail and asks "what the HELL is this thing!?"

They all shoot as much danmaku as they can to it, but the shots go right through it.

Ail shouts "one of my gaps mixed with Yukari's. It's come alive!"

All the others have scattered away, while Luna forces Kyo to go with her back to the village, Kyo shouting "Luna, my FRIEND is there!"

Luna shouts back "he can handle it, just GO!"

Medicine adds "the yama!!!"

Shikieiki and Komachi fly up the stairs and as soon as they land Shiki sighs and says "Komachi, help me get everyone out of here!"

Komachi asks "what about those 4?"

Shiki says "they are too close!"

Immediately, Komachi grabs Renko and Maribel, who were bravely heading to help the others, saying "no, girls, you are humans! This could be too dangerous for you!"

Renko and Maribel sigh as Komachi takes them to the stairs and says "go to the village. Make sure nobody else comes by."

Maribel nods just before rushing down the rest of the stairs.

Shiki spots Aya, Remilia and Sakuya heading toward the sunflower fields, then looks beside her and spots Kanako watching from a distance.

Shiki says "you idiot, get out of here now!"

Kanako shouts back "I won't leave without Sanae and Suwako!"

Shiki says "you have an important task right now, goddess."

Kanako grunts, then says "alright, alright! Just make sure they are all ok!"

Shiki nods as Kanako leaves, then spots Komachi using sake to lead Suika away from the shrine.

While everyone is being evacuated, the 4 brave fools continue to fire danmaku at the Random Sukima, even though they do nothing to it.

Yukari shouts "keep shooting, no matter what!"

With those words, the Random Sukima opens up, bearing it's jagged teeth, then gobbles Suwako, chewing on her, saying "hmm" then swallows her.

Sanae shouts in horror "Lady MORIYA, NO~!"

Yukari says "relax! She's elsewhere! Just stop this thing!"

The Random Sukima smiles, bearing it's jagged teeth, then, in an instant, it bites on Sanae, contently saying "MMMM~" then swallowing.

Ail gets mad and shouts "now you're gonna GET IT!"

Ail concentrates on closing down that gap, but the Random Sukima feels Ail's attempts weakening it, so it immediately bites down hard on him, then says "yummy" then chews a little longer before swallowing him.

Yukari frowns and thinks "dammit, I can't stop it on my own!" The Random Sukima turns around, ignoring Yukari, who shouts "don't you DARE!" however, when she tries to move, sharp pain courses through her entire body, then she falls down on the floor.

The Sukima heads straight to Komachi and Shikieiki, smacking it's lips, smiling with it's jagged teeth bared.

Shiki stares at it with a stern and strict look, her eyes glowing bright blue as Komachi stands looking neutrally at it, stretching her arms behind her head.

Shiki says "you sure you wanna try your luck?"

The Sukima's smile turns to a frown, then, making a sound just like Yukari's gaps, it disappears.

Komachi asks "Shiki-sama... what now?"

Shiki closes her eyes for a moment, then says "I'm afraid this time, I haven't got a clue."

-

Flying around lost and confused, Rika whimpers "I should have asked miss Yukari where the sunflower field is. I haven't got a clue where it is... or where I am. Oh, but I must NOT give up! Miss Reimu, I'm coming for you!"

Rika shrieks when under her, a tree makes a very loud rustling sound.

She looks around, but it's too dark for her to make anything out.

There's another violent rustling a little farther ahead, then another to the left, and one more right under her, then a mysterious giggle.

Rika panics and starts to hyperventilate.

She closes her eyes and says to herself "Rika, you aren't just some defenseless girl. You've been trained in both diplomacy and combat. Besides, I am sure my lady would be so disappointed in me if she saw me like this."

Again, a loud rustling under her.

Rika shouts "WHO'S DOWN THERE!?"

She gets no reply, then continues "I mean you no harm! Please show yourself!"

No response, and now, the other rustlings seem to be getting closer to her.

Rika gets her guard up, then pulls out her spell card and says "one last time... show yourself!"

Only the tree under her rustles, now more violently than before.

Rika thinks "no choice..." She grabs her spell card and says "Oath Keeper"

She tosses her spell card beside her, then a yellow gate opens where the spell card is floating.

She's just about to enter it when she hears Aya calling out to her, then cancels out the spell.

From Aya's side, it looks like Rika's open up a golden square gate, so Aya shouts "Rika, is that you?!"

The golden gate vanishes in an instant, then Rika replies "miss Aya,it's me, Rika!"

Immediately after getting to her, Aya says "come on, Remilia and Sakuya went ahead to the field. Let's go!"

Rika asks "you came to get me, miss Aya?"

Aya smiles, flips her thumb up and says "now you didn't think I'd let you on your own after what happened tonight, right!? Come on, let's go look for Reimu."

Rika smiles and nods, then quickly follow Aya to the Field of the Sun.

Underneath them, four familiar silhouettes looks around before dispersing, two of them heading out together, a girl giggling as they get away.

Inside the tree, Yuki pops her head out, looking around dreamily, then pulls herself back inside the tree, snoring loudly as soon as she does.

-

Ail wakes up next to the river at the Youkai Forest.

Suwako is fighting back a few youkai that are trying to get close, so as soon as Ail wakes up, he springs up, fires a few white orbs around, scaring the youkai away, then asks "Suwako, are you alright?"

Suwako quietly nods, then Ail asks "and Sanae!? Where is she!?"

Suwako shakes her head left and right, then says "help me find her, but keep your hands to yourself."

Ail says "now come on, what is up with you?"

Ail follows as Suwako lifts to the air, then Suwako says "don't act dumb. You're tricking Sanae to think she likes you; admit it!"

Like thunder, Ail's voice echoes as he says "I'M NOT TRICKING ANYONE!!!"

Suwako feels a tremendous pressure coming from Ail. She notices his magical aura turning red.

She backs away, looking on with terror, but calms down when Ail stops and takes a deep breath, his magical aura turning blue again.

Ail looks at her and says "lady Moriya, I'm not tricking anyone... how could you even say that?"

Suwako continues to stare awestruck, then Ail continues "I understand Sanae is special to you, and I would never take her away from you, but you have to understand she's a very special friend to me as well."

Suwako stares curiously and thinks "wait... he said friend?" then says "we saw what you did, Ail. You tried to kiss her twice, then you had that sick little dream!"

Ail looks angrily at Suwako; he feels he wants to blast her using all his power in every blow, but manages to calmly say "look I don't understand why that happened! I just don't understand!"

He grabs his head, letting some hair go through his finger as he grasps it and tries to pull hard on it, then says "I don't understand why you hate me so much either; why you want to cause me pain! What did I do!?"

Suwako continues to stare, then Ail flies to her, grabs her shoulder, then says "what do you want me to do? Come on, tell me. I don't want to lose your friendship, please!"

Suwako lightly pushes Ail's hands away, then sighs and says "then you're as dense as a brick wall."

Ail backs away, looking quite saddened, slowly dropping back to the ground.

Suwako gasps, then says "hey, look alive! I'll need your help to look for Sanae, after all."

Ail tries to fly back up, but continues to drop down slowly.

Suwako stares curiously and awestruck, then snaps her fingers and says "what if she's hurt and needs your help!?"

Ail's eyes glow with life as he starts to fly again, then says "You're right! Let' go find her!"

Suwako says "I can feel her presence... that way."

Suwako points toward the Garden of the Sun, so Ail rushes ahead, Suwako following soon after, thinking "This kid... is he for real? He comes from the world outside, yet acts like a child. Maybe we should observe him a bit longer."

-

Reimu wakes up on a gigantic blue flower petal that seems to be as large as a house.

Reimu's body aches, so she tries to stay sitting on the petal before getting up.

She admires the gigantic flower, thinking "wow, Yuka really outdid herself this time. This flower is huge!"

From a distance she hears Aya and Remilia calling "Reimu~ Where are you!?"

After them, sounding dreadfully worried, Rika shouts "my lady, please answer!"

Reimu feels she can't get up yet, so she calmly reaches into one of her sleeves, pull out a charm, then throws it on to the air.

The charm explodes, creating a spark of light that illuminates the area she is in.

She can hear them saying "there she is!" and that light allows Reimu to see the flower she is on.

She opens her eyes a bit wider and says "no way... This is that flower Ail revived for Yuka."

Before she can observe some more, Rika comes from the air and gives Reimu a bone-cracking hug.

Reimu clenches her teeth as her right eye expands while her other sparkles like a star.

Reimu grunts "Ri-Rika... that hurts!"

Rika lets her go quickly, saying "oh, sorry, my lady. My emotions go the best of me."

Reimu smiles and says "it's ok... Where are we?"

Remilia says "The Sunflower Field."

Aya adds "that weird mouth-thing sent you all the way back here."

Reimu gasps and says "whoa, that's right! What happened to that thing!?"

Remilia replies "that small god, the gap hag, that Ail and the green miko are taking care of it."

Reimu relaxes and says "good, they should be able to handle it."

From farther ahead, a loud explosion causes the ground to rattle.

"KYAAAAAH~!"

A scream shakes everyone up, all ready for anything, Aya pulling out a spell card, smirking as she says "looks like we get to have some fun of our own."

Even in the darkness, they can make out Sanae, running for her life, being chased by sharp-looking flying flowers.

Sanae shouts "I'm sorry~!"

Behind her, Yuka is wearing a pink pajama, a blue sleeping hat with yellow stars and moons and holding a large pink pocket watch with roman numbers on it on her left hand, firing flower danmaku at Sanae with her right.

Sanae shouts once more "I'm sorry~! Come one, forgive me already~!"

Yuka replies "I'll forgive you after I blasted you!"

Reimu face-palms an sighs, saying "better go help her."

Suwako and Ail come flying straight to Sanae, getting between Yuka and her target.

Suwako says "you leave my Sanae Alone!"

Ail adds in a reprehensive tone "Yuka, she said she was sorry!"

Yuka smiles and says "she destroyed a lot of the flowers near my house. She has to pay!"

Ail sighs and says "you can revive them, can't you!?"

Yuka continues smiling as she says "don't be unreasonable!"

Ail sighs, then says "fine, I'll lend a hand; just leave her alone."

Yuka smiles widely and nods as she says "ok... now come, it's this way."

Without turning around Ail says "Reimu, I'll see you back at the shrine. Sanae, lady Moriya... I'll see you guys later." then walks away, following Yuka.

Sanae stares curiously, and just as she's about to give chase, Suwako holds her shoulder and lightly shakes her head, then says "come on... Kanako needs us."

Sanae quietly nods, then follows Suwako to the air.

Reimu, Remilia, Sakuya, Rika and Aya stare as they fly away, then, Rika carries Reimu and says "alright then, to the shrine!"

As they lift off, Reimu asks "why are you carrying me?"

Sakuya and Remilia quickly follow, but something catches Aya's attention for a moment.

She stares toward the direction of Ail and Yuka, but decides to follow after Rika and the others.

-

An awkward silence between Sanae and Suwako makes their flight back home quite uncomfortable.

Many thoughts cross through Sanae's mind, and then breaks the silence by asking "what did you say to him?"

Suwako casually asks "what are you talking-?"

Sanae shouts "he didn't even look my way. What did you SAY to him?"

Sounding a little sad, Suwako says "actually... I think I understand him a little better now."

Sanae stares angrily at Suwako, then Suwako adds "we had a small conversation... and I apologize to you, for the way I acted. It's was a little childish."

Sanae scoffs and says "a little? You two tried turning him in to a dog!"

Suwako stops in mid-air, staring at Sanae with an ever so evident surprise in her eyes.

Sanae stops and looks back quite angry and says "I noticed what you did to his cup, and I told him about it. It was also I who caused it to backfire!"

Suwako is unable to answer, then Sanae continues "lady Moriya, I appreciate you're trying to take care of me, but I can take good care of myself, so if you and lady Yasaka don't mind, please back off!"

Suwako uses her hat to hide the shame in her eyes, however, there's nothing to cover the shame on her hat's eyes.

Sana sighs and says "whatever. Come on, let's go... and what is lady Yasaka doing?"

As they continue to fly to their shrine, Suwako manages to reply "she's going to try and bless Gensokyo. Hopefully, if the blessing is strong enough, we can take out that thing in the process."

As they continue onward, Suwako smiles and thinks "my Sanae's so sharp. Guess it runs in her blood."

-

Arriving at the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu, who somehow managed to free herself from Rika, immediately notices everything is left just at it was.

She scans around then notices Mima, holding Budou in her arms, smiling and shouting "hey, you guys! You're finally back!"

Budou adds "Hakurei sis, miss Rika, you're back!"

Reimu waves back at them, but then realizes Remilia, Sakuya and Aya are missing.

She asks Rika "hey, where did the others go?"

Rika replies "miss Sakuya and miss Remilia left to their mansion, however I was certain miss Aya was behind me just now..."

Reimu casually says "eh, she's probably found something interesting to make into a story."

To their right, Ail's gap opens, and immediately Budou shouts "papa~! You're back!"

Ail pops out from inside the gap, twitching a little, saying "Budou! Are you alright?"

Mima comes walking toward them, then Ail asks "ah, so you forgive miss Mima?"

Budou nods and says "yeah. Mama number 2 promised she'd never scare me or Chen again."

Mima blushes as she thinks "I'm still scaring the villagers, though." but manages to smile and says "yeah" while rubbing her chin on Budou's hair.

Reimu and Rika stare at them for a bit, then Reimu, in a dangerous tone, asks "so, Ail. Care so tell me what the hell you and Yukari did back there?"

Ail shivers and backs away from Reimu, stuttering, unable to speak clearly, then an umbrella strikes him hard on the head.

From behind, Yukari continues to smack Ail on the head with her umbrella as hard as she can, accompanied by Phredia, who pulls on his cheeks with amazing skill and strength for someone her size.

Reimu says "Rika, please take care of all these torches."

Rika salutes and says "right away, my lady!" then quickly gets to cleaning as fast as she can.

Reimu casually walks to Yukari and says "Yukari, that's enough... we want him alive."

Yukari stops her assault, turns her nose away and says "fine!"

Reimu looks at Phredia and says "you too. Let him go"

Phredia lets go of his cheeks, still glaring angrily at him, then slaps his left cheek.

Ail's eyes are spinning while he lies on the ground, his head covered in bumps and his cheeks all red from Phredia's assault.

-

Ail finally recovers, so Reimu asks him and Yukari to explain, however, Ail hasn't got a clue as to what happened, so Yukari, who is still mad at him, explains.

"That anomaly you saw is the effects of mixing two gaps at the same time in one same place, however, for it to have self consciousness it's even rarer, that's why I called it Random Sukima."

She turns to Ail and angrily asks "and what, in the name of all that's rational, where you doing, opening a gap to the shadow realm like that!?"

Ail answers "it was just a demonstration. It's not my fault you had to pop in like that!"

Yukari grabs his neck and strangles him while saying "how was I supposed to know you were opening such dangerous gaps, you idiot!"

Reimu gets up and says "calm down, Yukari. Is there any way we can stop this?"

Yukari lets go of Ail and says "well, from what I could see, when Ail tried to close it, he weakened it, so all we have to do, is close it, I guess."

Reimu head to the kitchen and asks "you 'guess'?"

Yukari replies "this is one rare and random anomaly, Reimu. I don't even know if it could have any other effects. For now all we know is that it eats like Yuyuko!"

Ail chuckles along with Mima, then Yukari asks "Reimu, what are you doing over there?"

Reimu casually says "well, I made some peach pies for tonight, and it'd be a shame to let them go to waste."

Rika opens her eyes wide and exclaims "p-peach pies? From my lady!?"

Reimu pulls out two pies from her oven, cuts many pieces and both she and Rika serve them, everyone immediately taking a bite, all, even Yukari, smiling contently as they happily eat.

Rika eats hers as many heats pop above her head, saying "oh, these are so DELICIOUS, my lady!"

Ail finishes his piece and says "I must say, I am VERY impressed, Reimu. I never though you could cook this good!"

In a fraction of a second, Rika sits right beside Ail, smiling angelically, saying in a most dangerous undertone "are you making fun of my lady?"

Casually, Ail says "I'm just saying, I've been living around here for some time, and I've never tasted something this good, coming from Reimu."

Yukari, Mima, Budou and Reimu all run away from the table the second Rika places one hand on Ail's shoulder.

Moments later, at Eirin's clinic, Ail lies on at stretcher, his left leg above his head, tied in a knot with his right arm, his head twisted to the left, trembling in pain.

Eirin stares, looking as though she's about to get sick and says "this is gonna hurt."

From outside, loud cracking sounds cause all the rabbits, including Tewi, to run away from the area, covering their ears as Ail's screams of pain echo all the way to the Human Village.

-

Morning at the SDM. Shinki approaches Meiling and says "good day. Is this the Scarlet Devil Mansion?"

With a smile, Meiling says "oh, good day. Yes, this would be it. Got some business here?"

Shinki chuckles and says "why yes, I came to apologize to your mistress for my daughters' intrusion, and to ask if she would allow me into her vast library."

Meiling nods and says "I see. Well, I am sorry, but I cannot let you pass unless I receive word beforehand."

Shinki frowns and saw "oh, that's a shame... Is there any way to contact your mistress?"

Before Meiling answers, Sakuya comes from inside, saying "welcome! You must be miss Shinki. We have been expecting you."

Both Meiling and Shinki asked surprised "you have?"

Sakuya chuckles and says "please, come with me. I'll take you to my lady."

Sakuya leads Shinki through the mansion all the way to the dinning room, where Remilia is drinking some tea.

She lifts her sights and says "ah, Shinki, I presume?"

Shinki bows politely, then asks "please, pardon my question, but how do you know about me?"

Sakuya smiles as she hands Shinki the red communication pin and says "we heard everything through this. Your maid left it behind when she tried to take some books with her."

Shinki bows apologetically and says "please forgive us. We didn't mean to cause any trouble."

Remilia gets closer, saying "yeah, yeah! Come, let's go to the basement."

Remilia reaches Shinki, then both start looking at each other from top to bottom for some time, pondering as they do.

Both turn sideways with narrow eyes and a big smile, shrugging and saying "no similarities!"*

-

As they walk down to the library, Remilia and Shinki have a casual conversation about their roles and lifestyles.

The hall to Patchouli's library was missing a large chunk of the carpet, and just before the door, a large cushion awaits, looking quite comfortable to be on.

Remilia looks to her right and noticed a portrait of the SDM's family.

Remilia looks at it and asks "when did we place this ugly picture, Sakuya? Ugh, it didn't get my good side."

Sakuya replies "my lady, all your sides are your good sides." then grabs the portrait and takes it off the wall, placing it against the wall for later disposal.

Remilia feels elated as she says "why, thank you Sakuya."

Shinki shrieks as she takes another step, placing her foot inside a small wooden sandal with wheels on it that roll her all the way to the cushion, where she flips in the air before falling comfortably on it.

Remilia panics and rushes to help her, but a golden washtub falls on her head, making a loud 'klunk' as Remilia's entire body stiffens upon impact.

Remilia stands still, her body stiff, for some time. Sakuya gets worried and asks "my lady, are you alright?"

Remilia ducks and rubs her head, then springs back up, her eyes on fire, her face red with rage as she shout "SAKUYA~! Find WHOEVER'S responsible for this and bring them to me on the...-"

Sakuya and Remilia look around and everything is gone. The cushion, the washtub, and even the carpeting is replaced.

Shinki stands farther ahead, smiles and waves at them as they glance to her.

Remilia clears her throat and says "please, miss Shinki, forgive me... Shall we go in, then?"

Shinki smiles motherly and says "please, if it's not too much."

As they enter, Sakuya says "oh, my lady, I forgot to mention, Patchouli is studying with her apprentice today, so she asks to not be bothered."

Remilia happily replies "then let's make sure to bother her as much as we can."

Shinki adds "please, don't mind me."

Before closing the door behind them, Remilia says "oh please, we do that to her often, right Sakuya?"

Sakuya giggles and says "my lady is so playful." then the door finally closes.

From the portrait pops Koakuma, holding the washtub in her hands, looking very content.

After her comes Nitori, who says "see? I told you my device would work!"

Koakuma hands Nitori some cucumbers in a basket and says "yes, you were true to your word. Please, accept a little extra from lady Patchouli. She thanks you for all your hard work."

Nitori giggles and says "anytime. You know where to find me."

-

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Budou, Phredia and Luna were created by Willie G.R.

Rika and Rika's spell cards were created by Snapshot2010

Mayor assistance by Snapshot2010

NOV 5 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

*** = This particular line I did as a joke to those who say that Shinki is the same as Remilia. I did it for the laughs and nothing else.**

**A/N: Today's OC description is:**

Phredia (Tiny Fairy) Is 1567 years old.

She is a fairy that was found along with Budou inside that other Makai, however she doesn't live there. She released Budou from Ail's special barrier and has been protecting her since then. Although small, she possesses immense power, however she will only use her powers when in need, or when Budou is in danger. It is unknown if she can talk at all.

She has long blond hair, pointy ears, blue eyes and wears a small red dress with a white ribbon on her neck. She's so small, she fits in Ail's hand. After arriving at Gensokyo, Alice thinks Phredia is a living doll, but is very disappointed after finding out she was wrong. She gives Phredia a red ribbon, a dark-blue dress with an apron, and some gloves making her look like Shanghai, her own doll.


	10. Chapter 9

It's been two days since the incident of the Random Sukima.

Reports from Ail and Momiji inform that Yuka and Kyo have already been chewed on by the wandering gap.

Fortunately, both were quite disgusting to the Random Sukima, so it just spat them back out almost immediately.

All attempts to stop it have been unsuccessful, as it escapes as fast as it comes by and attacks.

Reimu has a a very bad feeling about all this, but thankfully, all that's happened are those random bite-and-chew attacks for now.

-

Morning at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Remilia is just about to go to bed, and Meiling takes her post in front of the gates.

A tree rustles violently to her right and Meiling stances ready to defend the gates, shouting "who's there!? Show yourself this instant!"

The trees stop moving, then there's a bloody scream by the lake.

Meiling tries to look ahead, saying "that's Cirno!"

From behind her, the Random Sukima opens it's mouth wide and gobbles Meiling, chewing on her with a content "mm-mm-MMM" then smacks it's lips after swallowing her, sending her straight onto one of the mansion's stoves, making her scream in pain as she lands on a recently used grill.

She runs around holding her butt in pain, then one of the fairy maid splashes her with a pail of dirty water, making her smile and sigh in relief as her butt sizzles, cooling down in the process.

Remilia, unaware of what's happening around her mansion, sleeps contently in her bed, covering herself with her pink blankets, slowly drifting to a deep and peaceful sleep.

The Random Sukima appears in her room without making a sound.

It hovers close to her, smiling with is jagged teeth bare, then, in an instant, it gobbles her and start chewing on her, saying "hmm... hmm??"

Using it's tongue, wrapping it around Remilia, it shakes her, trying to make her wings fall off as she screams at the top of her lungs "SAKUYA~~~!!!!"

Quickly, Sakuya enters Remilia's room and finds the Sukima with half of Remilia's body in it's mouth, sucking on her like a lollipop, while Remilia swings her legs around, desperately trying to find a way to escape.

Sakuya shouts "let go of my lady, you FREAK! MEILI~NG!"

Sakuya pulls on her mistress' legs, trying with all her might to pull her out, again shouting "MEILI~NG!!! I NEED YOUR HELP!"

Sakuya manages to pull Remilia's wings free, which she starts to flap wildly, knocking Sakuya back and flying around the room aimlessly, knocking lamps, portraits and knocking down the curtains, trying to free her head from the Sukima.

Meiling finally arrives full of cuts, her butt still sizzling, looks at the mess and shouts "YOU~!!!"

She grabs the Sukima's teeth and forces them open, freeing Remilia from it's grasp.

Meiling clenches her teeth as the forcefully struggles to tear it apart, but the Sukima makes a violent thrust forward, gobbling her again, smiling contently as it chews on her for a second time, then gulps and disappears just like that.

Sakuya looks around, shouting Meiling's name, getting no response.

Remilia trembles as she tries to keep her cool, saying "se-search the entire mansion! I-I want her FOUND!"

Sakuya says "on it... my lady, are you ok?"

Remilia stares at Sakuya, and unconsciously she runs to her, bawling "I was so scared~ Waaaaaahhhh!!!!" then hugs Sakuya tightly.

Sakuya gets a nosebleed, and with a smile on her face, brushing her mistress' hair with her fingers, she says "there, there, my lady, you're safe now."

-

Meanwhile, Ail arrives at the Misty Lake and looks around, saying to himself "it's close."

He looks to the mansion when he hears Sakuya shouting Meiling's name over and over, however, another sight gets his full attention.

He sees a small pair of bare feet and some blood on the floor next to them.

When he gets closer, he notices it's a fairy, and upon further examination, he realizes it's Daiyousei.

Ail gasps in horror upon this realization and tries to get close, but Cirno gets in his way, aggressively shooting icicles at Ail, shouting "get BACK! I won't let you hurt Dai-chan again!!!"

Cirno looks very agitated and looks at Ail with such fury in her eyes, he can't help but feel a certain degree of fear.

He asks "wait, Cirno, what are you talking about? I just got here!"

Cirno fires a few more icicles, aiming at Ail's chest with deadly accuracy.

Ail jumps away just as Cirno builds up, and fires a big enough icicle to really cause major harm.

Ail shouts "Cirno, calm down! Cirno, we have to save Daiyou-"

Cirno grabs a spell card and shouts "Hail Sign- Hail Storm!"

Around Cirno, many icicle form up in straight lines, then scatter around aimlessly.

They all come down hard and fast, making it impossible for Ail to get close to her.

Ail manages to duck and dodge all the tiny icicles and sees a chance to attack, however, he is left awestruck by the next wave of her attack.

The icicles have grown in size, making them as large as trees.

Ail exclaims "she's really mad!"

To his luck, the icicles are so large, they collapse on each other, shattering into smaller pieces.

Ail looks under Cirno and says "I'm sorry"

Using his right hand, the symbol of Pandemonium on his bracelet glowing light-blue as he raises his arm, then causes the water under Cirno to rise and capture her, canceling her spell, then, using his hand, he guides the water to place Cirno on the edge of the lake, then the frog symbol starts glowing green and a pair of hands made of stone hold the little ice fairy down.

She grunts as she struggles to break free, but she can barely move.

Ail calmly says "I need to get Daiyousei to the doctor now."

Cirno shouts "no, don't you dare go near her!"

Ail stares at her curiously, then shrugs as he walks toward Daiyousei.

Cirno shouts "don't you DARE! I'm warning you!"

Cirno starts to cry now, shouting "no, don't! Leave Dai-chan alone! Dai-chan! Dai-chan, run away!!!"

Immediately, Ail notices a blade wound across Daiyousei's abdomen and arm.

The cut is not too deep, but she needs medicine. Ail grabs her, then walks to Cirno with Daiyousei in his arms.

Cirno cries as she continues to struggle for her freedom, then Ail shouts "CALM DOWN!" Cirno opens her tear-filled eyes and notices Daiyousei safely on Ail's arms.

Cirno cries "why did you hurt Dai-chan!?"

Ail sighs and says "I have Daiyousei in my hands. If you attack me, you'll hurt her too. Now, I'm going to let you go, and you and me are taking her to Eirin, alright?"

Cirno sniffles, then nods, immediately getting free from the stone hands.

She stares quietly as Ail opens a gap to Eirin's clinic, then says "come, let's not waste anymore time."

Cirno follows Ail into the gap, while two pair of dangerous looking eyes stare on from a distance, hiding under the shadows.

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu enjoys breakfast and tea with Rika by her side, and Mima, who keeps hovering just above the table, picking anything she wants.

Rika feels elated, sharing a wonderful and tranquil morning with her mistress, all spoiled the second Mima says "heads-up!"

A gap opens up on the ceiling, and out comes Meiling, crashing on her face just a few feet away from the table.

Rika springs up worried while Reimu and Mima continue their meal, uninterested about Meiling at all.

The gate guard is covered in drool and is full of cuts all over her body.

She looks around as Rika says "oh my goodness! Are you ok!?"

Meiling looks to Rika and says "oh, you must be miss Rika. Nice meeting you, I'm Meiling Hong. I'm the gate keeper at my mistress' mansion!"

Before Rika says another word, Meiling shouts in surprise "AAHHH! That weird mouth sent me all the way here!? I have to go back!"

Before she can rush back to the mansion, Reimu, who is now just beside Meiling, grabs her shoulder and says "whoa there, explain yourself."

Meiling turns to Reimu as Rika offers her some tea, which she nervously drinks in one gulp and says "this big mouth with jagged teeth came to the mansion. It ate me and tried to eat the mistress too. I tried to tear it apart, but he ate me again, then sent me here."

Reimu's expression changes to a very serious look and says "this is not good. That thing is still running lose."

Meiling asks "what do you mean?"

Reimu asks "did Ail go to the mansion?"

Meiling shakes her head lightly and says "there was some commotion by the lake... maybe it was him."

Silence takes over the shrine as Reimu, Rika and Mima look at each other.

Meiling chuckles nervously while scratching the back of her head and says "er, look, I really got to go. Sakuya might need my help, ok?"

Reimu nods, then Meiling flies away as fast as she can.

Rika asks "lady Reimu, what is it?"

Reimu says "I have a terrible feeling about all this."

From the skies, a familiar voice shouts "oy~! Reimu~!"

Reimu opens her eyes wide, and hiding her excitement, she says "that's... Marisa!"

Rika is able to notice, and even feel some of her mistress' excitement, but keeps quiet about it.

-

Rika serves more tea as Marisa exclaims "well, what a surprise! So now you have a new maid, ze!"

Rika bows and says "I serve only my lady Reimu."

Marisa smiles mischievously while chuckling and flapping her hand in the air, saying "yeah, yeah, yeah. Rika, come over here for a second."

Rika gets closer to Marisa, who wraps her arms around Rika's neck and whispers something to her ear, making her blush and blow steam off her ears.

Reimu looks on curiously, knowing Marisa, she knew that witch was up to no good again.

Marisa lets go of Rika, happily saying "and that's why she wears those detached sleeves."

Rika's lips wiggle as she grabs her apron and twists it in her hands, still blushing and blowing off steam from her hears.

In a flash, Reimu strikes Marisa on the head with her fist, angrily asking "what did you tell her!?"

Rika smiles and says "my lady, please allow me."

Reimu says "ok. Just remember this is a friend."

Rika winks and says "playfully, then."

With a smile on her face, Rika smacks Marisa's back with the open palm of her hand with such force, Marisa yelps as she's lunged forward to the floor.

Reimu sips on her tea and says "I thought you said playfully."

Rika scratches the back of her head while smiling and saying "guess I don't know my own strength."

Marisa stays on the floor for some time, her arms and legs twitching in pain, as Mima says "I'm going to Maribel's. See you later!"

Reimu asks "Marisa, I haven't seen you around for some time... you even left Maribel and Renko's housewarming party quite early. Where have you been?"

Marisa stretches her back, making a loud cracking sound that makes even Rika wince, then says "oh... I was busy, ze!"

Reimu asks in a curious undertone "busy? With what?"

Marisa pulls out a piece of paper and places it in front of Reimu's face, saying "ta-dah~!"

Reimu stares at it a little annoyed and says "it's just a doodle of you and me."

Marisa blushes and pulls back the paper, hiding it under her hat and saying "whoops... wrong paper... heheh."

She rummages through her apron for a while, then says "THIS!"

Marisa presents another piece of paper with a much better drawing of a beautiful land, plentiful on resources and seemingly spacious.

Marisa smirks as she shows this to Reimu and says "what if I told you I have found the gate into another, much more beautiful, plentiful, AND safe paradise?"

Reimu gasps in horror and says "Marisa! Where did you-?!"

Marisa quickly replies "stumbled upon this information in one of Patchy's books. Reimu, we could all go there. You, me, Rika, Ail, ALL of our friends. Even the villagers. That place has EVERYTHING for everyone!"

Before Reimu answers, a silver washtub falls on Marisa's head, causing her to clench her teeth, standing where she is.

Rika grabs the washtub and happily says "time to wash the clothes, my lady!"

Reimu replies "oh, go ahead."

-

At Patchouli's library, Koakuma crouches on the floor, holding her head and trembling violently.

Patchouli looks on casually, and calmly says "that's odd. I though this Metal Sign - Washtub Rain spell would work... oh well, thank you Koakuma."

Koakuma takes a breath of relief, quickly composing herself.

Patchouli turns to Renko and says "see? Even someone as experienced as me has some trouble, but that doesn't stop me from trying and believing, right?"

Renko sighs and says "I will try my best, miss Patchouli."

In a fraction of a second, the Random Sukima pops behind Renko and quickly gobbles her up, chewing on her, then spitting her back out with a "BLECH!" then quickly disappears.

Patchouli checks on Renko, hiding the feeling of worry and casually asking "are you alright, Renko?"

Renko's eyes spin as she says "I saw that carousel. It was big and chewy!"

Patchouli smiles and says "she's fine."

From a few bookshelves away, Shinki shrieks, then a loud and disturbing gulping sound echoes all over the library, then silence.

Koakuma says "that sounded like lady Shinki."

Patchouli replies "Koa, I'll be leaving to the Hakurei Shrine, but before that, I need you to find me a special book."

Koakuma stares at her mistress with the outmost attention, awaiting for her orders.

-

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu takes Marisa's drawing and furiously rips is to shreds, then says "Marisa, this is VERY irresponsible of you!"

Marisa stares back awestruck and asks "w-what are you saying?"

Reimu says "if you try to open a gate from this chaotic paradise to THAT paradise, you'll only cause trouble, and I WILL have to seal you for it!"

Marisa sighs and says "fine, fine... I won't try it."

Marisa hides her face under her hat, then Reimu says "I'm sorry, Marisa. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. Just be more careful next time, alright?"

Marisa lifts her head with a smile and says "alright... er, Reimu, I wanted to ask you something."

Reimu says "yes, what is it?"

Marisa asks "will you marry me?"

A yin-yang orb comes flying straight to Marisa's cheek while Reimu calmly sips on her tea and says "please stop being so weird."

Marisa rubs her face, still smiling, then says "right, sorry. The thing is, I was trying to find a cooling spell for my house, so it can stay cool during summer, but~!"

At the Forest of Magic, Alice stands in shock, right in front of Marisa's completely frozen house, encased inside a giant glacier.

Back at the Hakurei shrine, Marisa finishes saying "...and so, I was wondering if I could sleep here for a couple of days, while my house thaws out. That is... if it's ok with you."

Marisa waits to hear Reimu's usual "go back home", but to her surprise, Reimu sighs and smiles as she says "alright, but just for a few days. And do donate from time to time, alright?"

Marisa stares back at Reimu quite surprised, then nods without thinking.

Reimu smiles back and says "Rika."

In an instant, Rika rushes to Reimu, bowing to her, placing her right arm on her abdomen, saying "what is it, my lady!"

Reimu says "Marisa will be staying over for a few nights. See that we can accommodate her properly."

Rika bows once more and says "as you wish, my lady!" then rushes away, taking Marisa's black clothes away and replacing them with Reimu's old shrine maiden outfit, all in the blink of an eye.

Marisa blushes and shouts "how did you do that!?"

Rika smiles, winks and waves her finger, saying "it's a s-e-c-r-e-t" then rushes away to clean Marisa's clothes.

Reimu chuckles, then takes another sip of tea, while Marisa continues to blush, inspecting herself thoroughly.

-

At the Sanzu River, Rumia, Flandre and Agava, having done their jobs and earned a little bit of money for themselves, walk toward the Human Village, Flandre saying "I think I'll buy something nice for myself."

Agava places her arms behind her head, resting it on them and says "bah, money's useless. I wonder why humans give so much importance to it?"

Rumia smiles and asks "you've been killing humans all this time and don't know?"

Agava blushes and says "th-that's all behind me now!"

Rumia surrounds herself in darkness while saying "is that so~?"

Agava sighs,and then, something pulls Flandre back.

The Random Sukima chews on Flandre, leaving her legs outside it's mouth, Flandre waving them around as wildly and as fast as she can, hoping to get away.

The sight makes Agava laugh so much, she starts to cry and roll on the ground, holding her belly while doing so.

The Sukima opens it's mouth for a second, and Flandre tries to get away, shouting "kyaa~~! Someone help me~!!" and losing her hat on the ground as well.

This makes Agava laugh even harder, while Rumia flies around, saying "I'll save you!" but continues to crash on to trees.

Agava continues to laugh, saying "I can't- I can't stop, HAHAHAHAAHAHA! I'm-I'm gonna explode, WAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Finally, the Random Sukima spits Flandre out with a "BLECH!"

Agava tries to stand up, holding herself up with her hands and knees, but when she sees that, she loses strength on her arms, trying to hold her laughter, but failing miserably, falling back on the floor and rolling around while laughing hard.

Flandre is angry, her face red with rage. She stomps to Agava, who stops laughing for a moment, stares at the drool-covered, tattered-clothed and cut Flandre, then laughs some more.

Flandre growls, grabs the laughing shadow youkai and says "let's see how YOU like it" then grabs the Random Sukima and forces Agava into it's mouth.

The Sukima frowns the second Agava touches it's tongue, but Flandre scowls dangerously and shouts "CHEW, YOU ****** MOUTH FROM HELL!!!"

Flandre's curse causes all sorts of youkai to run away from the area, crying and covering their ears, even some tough-looking ones, while Rumia, who is still inside her darkness, bumps on another three says "potty-mouth is ba~ck!"

The Sukima chews on Agava, looking as though it might throw up at first, but then says "hmmm!" and continues to chew casually, then spits her back out, saying "bu~lech!" then disappears.

Agava is covered in drool and cuts, her eyes spinning around as she tries to compose herself.

Flandre stares triumphantly and says "how does it FEEL, huh!?"

Agava drops to the ground, saying "uuu~, I saw my tricycle..."

Rumia crashes hard against the same tree as before, and dizzily says "is that so~?"

-

Meanwhile, at Shiki's court room.

Shikieiki starts calling back the misplaced souls, telling Komachi "well, let's start fixing the damage."

Komachi smiles and says "look, Shiki-sama, maybe our replacements did a magnificent job, and you won't even have to..."

Komachi's words stop dead on their tracks as legions of souls come marching from hell and heaven, making a mountain of misplaced souls inside the court room.

Shiki looks quite annoyed toward Komachi, and forcing a dark smile, she says "you were saying?"

Komachi giggles nervously and says "I'll go get us some coffee, Shiki-sama..."

Shiki sighs and says "don't forget the sugar."

-

Noon at Eirin's Clinic.

Ail comes out of the clinic with Daiyousei on his hands while Eirin gives him some instructions.

"So it'll be for the best if she stays near someone that can care for her and give her the medicine, at least for tonight." says Eirin as Ail, carrying Daiyousei, and followed by Cirno, enter through one of his gaps.

Ail looks at Eirin and says "thanks, I'll remember that. But now you keep your eyes peeled for that self-conscious gap, you hear me?"

Eirin nods, then says "I can take care of myself, so don't you worry!"

Ail silently nods, then closes his gap.

Eirin sighs as she crosses her arms around her abdomen, then glares toward the mansion and summons her bow and arrows.

Inside the mansion, Reisen finishes her bath and heads straight to her room, avoiding the usual trap of a bucket of dirty water above the door.

She sighs as the water falls and says "Tewi, you should find someone else, once in a while."

Reisen enters her room, then a loud snap, followed by her screaming in pain makes Tewi come out of Kaguya's room, looking quite content with herself.

Reisen pulls a mouse-trap from her aching tail, which throbs as soon as she frees it.

She rubs her tail and with a tears in her eyes and a force smile, she says "this is what I get for lowering my guard."

From outside, Kaguya casually asks Tewi "Inaba, don't you feel that strange tremor?"

Tewi, with a mischievous smile, shrugs and says "perhaps you need some of my brand of tea!"

From under her skirt, Tewi pulls a large glass mug of beer and starts drinking it, placing on hand on her waist.

"KYAAAAAHHH~~!!!"

She stops drinking and looks in shock toward Reisen's room where the screams of horror come from.

Kaguya casually says "Inaba, you really should give her a break sometimes."

Tewi calmly says "but I didn't leave anything else in there, this time."

Eirin comes inside, pointing her arrows around, looking very agitated.

She shouts "LOOK ALIVE!!"

Both Kaguya and Tewi get ready for a battle.

There is a loud gulp and a raspy "mmm-MMM~~!" from inside Reisen's room.

Eirin says, in a strict tone "keep you eyes open. It could be anywhere, you hear me!?"

Kaguya asks "what? What are you talking about!"

Eirin opens her mouth, but before she can explain, the Random Sukima pops just above her and gobbles her up entirely, chewing her slowly.

Kaguya shouts "Inaba, out of the way!"

Tewi jumps outside of the house as Kaguya prepares a concentrated blast of magic, but stops when the Sukima frowns and gets a little red.

It's lip starts to wriggle around, then very suddenly, is screams, spitting out Eirin along with fire from it's mouth.

As soon as Eirin falls on the floor, Kaguya unleashes a barrage of thick blue bullets, all exploding once they reach the Sukima, heavily damaging it and making it retreat as quickly as it came.

Kaguya asks "what did you do to it!?"

Eirin says "seems... I was a bit too spicy for it... princess."

Eirin looks around, then worriedly asks "where is Udonge!?"

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Ail places Daiyousei in a futon, gives her Eirin's medicine, then goes straight to Reimu and Rika, both sitting on the shrine's porch, calmly drinking some tea, Rika feeling elated of being with her mistress in such a tranquil moment again.

Ail sighs and says "thanks for keeping Daiyousei here."

Reimu calmly says "don't mention it." then looks at Cirno and says "she's very agitated. She insists you did that to her little friend."

Ail nods and sighs, then says "I don't know, Reimu, but I think you are right. Something is not right here. That thing keeps gobbling up our friends, but it seems as though nothing else happens... but I can't shake that feeling that-"

Reimu continues for him "it's all too simple. Yes. When something seems to be too simple, it will probably progress into a nightmare."

Marisa shouts "look out, Ail!"

Cirno gets free from Marisa and rushes straight toward Ail, clenching her teeth and shooting icicles at him, then flies straight to Daiyousei, saying "I'm here Dai-chan. He won't touch you again!"

She glares furiously at Ail, so Ail backs away, getting out of the shrine as quickly as possible, in order to avoid fighting her again.

Marisa gets closer and says "I've never seen her this agitated before, ze!"

Ail says "you should have seen her spell. She went insane!"

Rika asks "my lady, what's the matter?"

Over at the Misty Lake, the Random Sukima, it's mouth in flames and damaged, desperately whimpers and whines, then gets inside the lake, gulping insane amounts of water.

At the same time, over at the shrine, Reimu says "Ail... what if this Sukima is making copies of us?"

Ail replies "Reimu, that's very dangerous thinking there."

Marisa shouts "whoa, whoa there, Reimu! That's impossible! Maybe Cirno is right, and Ail DID attack Daiyousei, then faked helping her."

Ail smiles nervously and says "that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

Marisa bumps her forehead on Ail's and asks "where were you lat night, then!?"

Ail stares back and calmly replies "I was chasing that THING out of the village after it chewed on Kyo!"

Marisa ponder, then says "crap, you have witnesses then."

Reimu, in a serious undertone, says "guys, this is serious. Look, Cirno's an idiot, but she seems very sure of what she saw, and is acting very aggressively toward Ail, and Ail says Daiyousei was hurt by blades, and we all know Ail doesn't use those. Maybe..."

They all look up toward the darkening sky when they hear Aya calling "REIMU~~!"

At the same time, the Sukima, having drunk half of the lake's water, rises up looking refreshed and renewed, belches loudly, then disappears.

At the shrine, a gap opens up, making a sound like Yukari's.

Reimu, followed by Rika, quickly take to the air and gallons and gallons of water come pouring from the gap, washing Ail and Marisa all the way down the shrine stairs.

They manage to hold on to the stairs, halfway down, spitting water, then watching as the large wave splashes over the human village, then continues it's way to the Youkai Forest.

-

Reisen wakes up, feeling heavy and in pain.

She narrowly opens her eyes and sees purple flowers all around her.

She tries to breath, but feels asphyxiated.

She thinks "poison field!" and tries to get up, but can't move a muscle, then she collapses, taking one last deep desperate breath.

Soon after, something pulls her away, slowly taking her back to safety.

At the Hakurei Shrine, Aya, her face filled with worry, goes straight to Reimu and says "you're not going to believe me when I tell you this!"

Marisa and Ail, wet and waiting for their clothes to dry on them, and Cirno, still next to Daiyousei, listen carefully to Aya, who gives Reimu various pictures.

Aya says "I took those that night when that thing came to life."

Reimu looks at the dark pictures, all showing shadows of Ail, Suwako, Reimu, and Yukari.

Some are too dark, but others show enough light to see it is them.

Reimu gasps as she sees her face, looking on with ill-intent and a wicked smile.

Aya says "that night, I thought I saw something strange at the sunflower fields. At first I though nothing of it... but I followed my gut instincts and kept looking around, but nothing. Later, I went back home, developed my pictures, and then I found this."

Aya gives Reimu one last picture; the second shot she took from the oath ceremony group.

Reimu scans the picture with great interest and gasps when she notices a gap opening in the distance and dropping Yukari away, but at the same time, Reimu see's Yukari being chewed in the picture.

Reimu says "this... Then it's true. That thing is making copies of all it eats."

Back at the Nameless Hill, Reisen lies on her back, away from the poisonous flowers, moaning as she wakes up once more.

She opens her eyes and srpings up, looking surprised.

A familiar voice says "shh, shh. Please, don't be scared. I'm here to help you."

Reisen, awestruck, says "this must be the poison."

The voice replies "Reisen, listen to me. I am real, I want to help you, really!"

Reisen continues to stare toward the familiar voice's source, unable to say anything.

At the Hakurei Shrine, Ail says "this explains why Cirno though it was me. It must have been my copy that did that to Daiyousei!"

Cirno exclaims "I would have noticed if it was fake. It was Ail! It had his scent!"

Aya says "so did all those copies I followed. Their scent is the same as the originals."

Cirno stares at Ail for a moment, but says nothing.

Ail, then says "Reimu, you understand, they also have ill intent, right?"

Reimu replies "but for what reason, I wonder...?"

Back at the nameless hill, Reisen kneels , listening to the familiar voice that says "she treats you like a slave, punishes you for stupid reasons, and even injures you and makes FUN of you when that little black rabbit gets you with one of her pranks! I can help you get the respect you deserve... What do you say?"

A hand gets close to Reisen.

She stares at it for some time, then gently takes the hand, looks up and smiles at herself, or rather, a darker haired copy of herself, wearing a brown blouse, instead of a white shirt, no tie and the top button is unbuttoned.

-

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, Marisa grabs Cirno by her shoulders and mischievously says "Cirno, don't you have anything to say to Ail, daze?"

Cirno lowers her head, feeling quite ashamed of herself and says "I'm... sorry Ail."

Ail smiles and says "it's alright, Cirno. You were protecting your friend, so I understand how you felt."

Cirno lifts her head with a smile on her face, then quickly turns to Daiyousei when the weakened fairy calls for her.

Aya, sounding very worried, says "I'm going to write a story about this, Reimu. Everyone should know!"

Reimu nods and says "you spread the word as fast as you can. Ail, go to the Moriya's and make sure to let them know. Rika, go get Maribel at the village then head to Remilia's Mansion, tells her what's going on and..."

Reimu gasps, making everyone stare at her, then she says "that thing got Remilia and swallowed Meiling twice!"

Marisa says "then let ME go to the mansion. I can handle Remilia, and the possible twin Meilings if they happen to come by!"

Reimu smiles and nods, then says "alright then, Rika you come with me to..."

From the stairs comes Eirin, Tewi and Kaguya.

Reimu stares at Eirin and says "so... it got you too."

Eirin asks "you haven't seen Udonge around here by any chance?"

Reimu stares at Eirin and says "this is worse than I though. I'll make a list of who's been bitten so far. Everyone else, spread out, spread the word, and keep and eye open!"

Ail is the first to leave through one of his gaps, then Marisa on her broom, and before Reimu and Rika head inside, Yukari pops by and says "Reimu, Rika, Aya... So glad I got you in time."

She floats inside the gap, getting closer to Reimu, positioning herself right behind her and playing with her hair as she says "someone's been opening gaps all over. It's been quite busy for me and Ran today; tell me, is Ail around here?"

Reimu signals Aya to leave, and as soon as she does, she smirks and says "I'm afraid the one opening gaps is you, Yukari."

Yukari stops playing with Reimu's hair and stares at her quite curiously.

Reimu turns to face her with a smirk on her face, then Yukari opens her fan to cover her mouth and says "I see. That thing did more than just taste greatness."

Reimu says "Yukari, do me a favor and find out who else has been bitten."

Yukari asks over her fan "why, darling? What are you planning?"

Reimu says "knowing who's been bitten might give us an idea of what we're up against here."

Yukari smile, closes her fan, then says "I see you're using you head for once."

Rika, in a threatening undertone, says "watch it~!"

Yukari chuckles, then disappears inside her gap.

Inside the shrine, Eirin takes care of Daiyousei, while Kaguya looks around while holding Tewi on her lap.

Eirin gets up, dusts her hands, then says "Reimu, if Udonge comes over here, could you tell her I'm waiting for her return?"

Reimu nods, then quietly, Kaguya gets up, letting go of Tewi, then as they leave, Eirin says "tell her... I'm worried about her."

Reimu looks surprised at Eirin, as they all leave back to their mansion.

-

At the Forest of Magic, in Alice's house, Alice sits alone on her small dinning table, watching as Shanghai and Hourai float around her, looking at her with their lifeless eyes.

Alice sighs and says "it's nice to have your company, you two... I just wish... I wish I could give you life... hear you speak, let you move on your own, think on your own. *sigh* I'm just dreaming, I guess..."

A knock on her door disturbs her peace.

Alice sighs and shouts "go away, I'm busy!"

From behind the door, a sweet and motherly voice says "oh my, that's so rude. Sorry to have bothered you!"

Outside is Shinki, looking dreadful, her clothes in tatters, full of cuts and bruises, her hair in a complete mess, and her face quite dirty.

She thinks "oh well, I guess I can try going home" but before she turns around, the door quickly opens.

Alice immediately exclaims "mom, what are you doing here!?"

Shinki smiles and says "hi~! I didn't mean to bother you so I'll just be-"

Alice desperately says "wait, wait, sorry mom, I though you were that annoying neighbor of mine!"

Shinki looks around, sweats a little and scratches her cheeks, softly asking "err, neighbor?"

Alice quickly pulls Shinki in, saying "come on in, mom! You look like a total mess, what happened to you!?"

Shinki sits on the dinning table while Alice prepares her some dinner, helped by her two dolls.

Shinki says "I don't know what happened exactly. I was reading a book, when I'm suddenly being chewed on, then, when I woke up, I was lost inside this forest!"

Alice says "but why didn't you just fly?"

While she smiles that angelical motherly smile of hers, Shinki's stomach grumbles loudly.

She chuckles nervously and says "heh, well, after I woke up, I was REALLY hungry for some reason."

Alice serves some rice and soup along with some baked potatoes, then, as she places them on the table, she says "well, eat up. I'll go and prepare your room."

Shinki, holding the chopsticks in her mouth, stares at Alice for a moment and says "I don't wish to be a bother, deary."

Before Alice answers, Shanghai flies in front of Alice and says "no trouble at all."

Hourai adds "please stay with us, and play with miss Alice."

Shinki giggles and says "aww, such sweet things."

Alice stares at them, her eyes cast in a blue shadow, her lips wiggling around, then she stutters "th-the-the-they are ta-ta-talking!?"

Shanghai gets closer, sweats and smiles nervously and bows as she says "we're sorry we took so long, but getting used to these bodies took a little longer than we though, heh heh... Right Hourai?"

Hourai sits on the table, looking at her dark-blue dress and asks "can I get something in red?"

-

At Marisa's frozen house, Yuki wanders by, her stomach roaring with hunger, her eyes narrowly open, and drooling while thinking about food.

She looks at the frozen house and thinks "this is Marisa's house... I wonder if she's home?"

Without thinking twice about it, Yuki summons a fireball the size of her head, melts the ice to the door, opens it, and casually goes inside.

Once in, she says "wow, it's so nice and cool here, but such a mess. How can she even walk in here?"

She calls for Marisa, but there's no answer.

Yuki continues to look around, until she finds Marisa's kitchen.

Her eyes shine brightly at the sight of various sweets and comestibles.

She wipes the drool off her mouth and says "I'm sure she won't mind if I take a few bites... right?"

And so, the sound of loud chomping echoes all through the night, making all sort of creatures and fairies curious to the strange sounds coming from inside the still frozen house.

-

Ail arrives at the Moriya Shrine, and is immediately greeted by a pair of logs that try to strike him down, however, he activates a barrier with such force, the shock-wave knocks the logs away as if they were toothpicks.

Ail says "no time for this!"

From inside, Budou shouts "papa's ba~ck!"

Ail approaches the shrine, and in an instant, Kanako is right in front of him, knocking her forehead against his, however, Ail doesn't even blink, and looking neutral, he says "save it, lady Yasaka. This is important!"

Inside the shrine, Kanako holds Budou on her lap, Suwako stands next to Ail, staring at him with great curiosity as Sanae manages to sit as close as possible to him.

Ail summarizes all that's happened so far, and after he's done explaining, Suwako says "I see." she turns to face Kanako and says "then our blessings failed after all."

Budou curiously asks "blessings?"

Kanako calmly says "yes, sweetie. See, after what happened that night, the yama asked me to spread my blessings around, for protection."

FLASHBACK

Kanako stands on the north side of a circled pentagram she drew on the ground with her magic.

Facing south, she begins to chant in an ancient dialogue, the magic star reacting with a bright white light.

Shortly after starting, Suwako and Sanae arrive, Suwako standing to the east side, Sanae standing to the west, all facing toward the center of the pentagram, then join Kanako's chanting.

The circle lights up even more, sending a large pillar of light to the sky that spreads around all over Gensokyo.

One of the pillars heads to the Garden of the Sun, while another goes straight to the Hakurei Shrine and the Human Village.

Those two particular beams of light get corrupted by a dark-violet light; that light quickly spreading and going straight back to the source.

Kanako shouts "LOOK OUT!" but the dark lights reach the pentagram, causing a large explosion that sends all three goddesses flying back and falling on their backs.

Kanako gets up, shouting "is everyone alright!?"

Sanae rubs her head and says "yeah... but lady Yasaka, what was that?"

Suwako, looking very serious, says "someone with great magical abilities interfered, and whoever it was, he or she just beat three goddesses in one shot!"

Kanako clenches her teeth, growling softly, then gets up and says "the good news is it only affected 20% of the blessing."

Suwako stand up and says "it only takes a single spark to turn a blessing into a nightmare."

Sanae gets up and notices the worried expression on both goddesses.

She ponders for a moment, but keeps quiet, lifting her sights to look at the sky.

FLASHBACK OVER

Budou stares curiously at Kanako's frightened expression, then looks around and notices the gloomy atmosphere around, then says "don't look sad. The sparklies are with us. We can fix anything with them on our side!"

Everyone looks at Budou curiously, then one by one, they start smiling, then Kanako rubs Budou's head very gently and says "thank you Budou. Yes, you're right. We can fix this, I am certain of it."

Sanae adds "yes, that's right. We've all been through enough experiences, right? This is just another one of those experiences!"

Suwako smiles, then says "this one will be a little different... but I'm sure, if we stick together, we'll be able to overcome it."

Budou giggles and says "and with papa Ail with us, we can't lose! Right papa?"

Ail chuckles as Budou gets off Kanako and flies straight to him, sitting on his lap and giggling as he rubs her head with his hand, then says "I'll do everything I can to help, that's for sure."

He looks at Kanako with a smirk, then Kanako, staring back rather seriously, nods, then smirks back.

Phredia comes from under Kanako's hair, looks around, and after noticing Budou's with Ail, she immediately flies straight to her, then get's on her shoulder, resting her head against Budou's ear.

-

At the SDM, the library is a battle zone.

Marisa laughs as Patchouli's spells keep missing her, as well as Koakuma's attempts to slow her down with light danmaku barrages.

"You should be thanking me for coming all the way here, just to give you Reimu's message, ze!"

Patchouli replies "that's no reason to steal my books, you thieving witch!"

Marisa replies "hey, it's borrowing. I'll return them, that's a promise!"

Patchouli says "well return the ones you took already!"

Marisa replies "I'm not done with the~m!"

A piece of paper flies right in front of Marisa.

She instinctively grabs it, then reads out loud "I am a heel."

She looks down to the floor at Renko, who's laughing and pointing at her, then shouts "hey, that's not funny! What the-!?"

The piece of paper glows yellow, and before Marisa can let it go, it explodes with great force, sending Marisa down to the floor, her clothes floating down slowly to the ground, along with her broom and the books she was trying to take.

Patchouli stares with a neutral face and grabs a small piece of the paper and notices a part of a symbol, and sounding impressed, she says "alchemical clothe-shedding symbol... not bad. It seems you're learning something after all, miss Usami."

Renko tips her hat while smirking and says "don't underestimate THIS girl."

Renko's run over by a small metal vehicle being driven by Flandre, who shouts "out of my way, I'm driving here!" just as she runs over Renko.

Patchouli stares for a moment, sighs, then says "Koa~, could you get the first aid kit again?"

Koakuma replies "right away, miss Patchouli!"

From behind one of the bookshelves, Marisa shouts "could you give my clothes back. It's really cold!"

Patchouli smirks as she grabs Marisa's clothes in mid-air and says "leverage!"

-

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Agava, Budou and Phredia were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot 2010

Some assistance by Snapshot 2010

NOV 7 2009

written by

Willie G.R.


	11. Chapter 10

Morning at the Human Village. Maribel sits in her kitchen, thinking "it's so quiet here. I miss the shrine so much." while drinking on a small cup of iced cocoa.

She smacks her lips and says "ah, needs more sugar."

With a bang, the front door opens, and in comes Renko with a book on her hand.

Maribel casually says "welcome back, Renko. How was your study session?"

Renko doesn't reply, and just turns around, showing tire marks on her back.

Maribel shrieks, letting go of her cocoa and rushing to Renko, asking "what happened to you?"

Renko casually replies "it's nothing. Look at this, though."

Renko opens the door and points the open palm of her hand toward the ground in front of the house.

Renko concentrated for some time, then the floor cracks a little, then a small rock pops from under the ground.

Maribel looks very impressed and says "you finally did it!"

Renko sighs and says "I still got a long way to go, but miss Patchouli says I'm not a lost cause after all."

Maribel giggles and smiles, then feels she's being pulled to the air. Renko shouts "MARY!!!" as the Random Sukima chews on Maribel, smacking it's lips and smiling very contently, constantly making loud slurping sounds.

In her despair, Renko tries to hit it with the book, but it only goes through it, and the Sukima gulps Maribel with a content "mmmmm~!" then disappears.

Renko drops the book inside the house and runs to Kyo's house calling for help, shouting "KYO~, LUNA~! It got Mary! It got MARY~~!"

-

A few houses Away, a small family of three, a woman, a man, and a young boy enjoy breakfast, when the table rattles for a bit.

Startled, they all got up with their plates in hand.

The husband nods and places his food on a counter behind him, then looks under the simple square table, but sees nothing.

When he comes back up, he says to the boy "you were playing tricks again, weren't you!?"

The woman, from behind the husband, an the child, in front of him, both look toward the table with horror in their eyes.

The man angrily says "you're not getting away from it THIS time!"

The boy points to the table, and when the man looks back, his face turns purple.

Mima's head is on the table, crying blood from her white eyes. She turns to the man and asks "I'm lost... could you point me to my body?"

The man gulps, then the woman pokes him on the shoulder, then points at the oven as it opens itself up, then out comes Mima's body, walking slowly, raising it's arms toward the family, and spewing blood from it's neck.

Above the Hakurei Shrine, a gap opens up, spitting out Maribel, covered in drool and cuts, screaming and flapping her arms, trying to soften her fall, when she is rescued by Rika, long before she reaches the ground.

Maribel exclaims "miss Rika! Thank you!"

Rika smiles and after landing safely, places Maribel on the ground, and while wiping her hands on her apron, she asks "miss Maribel what happened? Why didn't you fly?"

Maribel ponders, then says "ah, that's right, I forgot... I can fly!" then giggles.

From behind the shrine, Reimu exclaims "Maribel! What happened?"

She stares at Maribel, then smacks her own forehead and says "let me guess... that gap ate you, didn't it?"

Maribel smiles angelically as she nods.

Reimu sighs, and is about to say something, when three screams from the village echo all the way to the shrine.

Reimu blows a puff of air and says "Mima..."

Maribel giggles and says "so that's why she stayed around our house all night."

-

Mima's eyes spin around and has quite a few bumps on her head, and a charm on her forehead, and is being dragged back to the shrine by Rika, who accompanied Reimu to get Mima.

While walking back to the shrine, Reimu asks "Rika, do you know how to use your spell card?"

Rika stares curiously, then says "well... not exactly."

Reimu says "well then, today, you and I are going to train a little. There's too much going on, and you need to be ready."

Rika salutes Reimu with her free hand and says "as always, you know best, my lady!"

At the shrine, Rika goes out of her way to place Mima comfortably in her underground room, inside her futon, but forgets to remove the charm.

Back outside, Reimu prepares the back of the shrine with various wooden dummies, some targets, and some barriers to protect the shrine and storehouse.

She pulls out a spell card the moment Rika gets close, then says "alright, this is one of my most simple spells. It's called, Fantasy Seal, and... well, it's better if you just see a demonstration."

Reimu shouts "Divine Spirit - Fantasy Seal!"

10 orbs in five colors: red, blue, green, yellow, and white, all head straight to one of the dummy, turning it into ashes after it explodes.

Rika opens her eyes wide with admiration, saying "ooh, that's amazing!!"

Reimu smiles and says "that attack uses 5 elements. Red is fire, blue is water, green is wind, yellow is earth, and white is lightning. It's not easy, but being able to use these elements is a great advantage, specially with those that are adept to a specific element."

Rika, still looking on with admiration, smiles and says "I want to try too!"

Reimu smiles and says "alright, go ahead. I'm curious about that spell card of yours too."

Rika smiles, grabs her spell card from under her apron, then shouts "Oath Keeper!"

The spell card flies beside Rika, spins, then a large golden gate opens up.

She instinctively jumps inside, then comes out with a Japanese sword in hand.

She looks at it qiute disappointed and says "a sword?" then thinks "no. I wanted something like my lady... but wait..."

She grabs the hilt and slowly pulls the sword out of it's sheath.

At first it looks like a normal steel blade, but when she pulls out a bit more, she realizes the un-sharpened side glows green.

Reimu smiles and says "wind. No surprise there, seeing it's your specialty."

Rika sighs and sounding just a bit disappointed, she says "but why only wind?"

Reimu smiles and says "I see. If you train some more, you can reach your goal. Now, let's see what you can do with this?"

Rika nods, then grabs the sword tightly with one hand, then, as if knowing already, she shouts "Wind Sign - Neppa Senpuujin!" while thinking "I want to protect you, my lady. I'll train hard to do so. Your Rika will be here for you always... even if you don't need it... I will protect you, my lady!"

She sheathes her sword, then aims toward one of the wooden dummies, charging her energy.

Reimu gets impressed, then, like a blur, Rika unsheathes the blade, swings her sword and sheathes it again, sending a large blade of wind that trails wind danmaku crystals behind it.

She quickly moves to the left and repeats the attack, then to the right, and repeats, moving so quickly, even Reimu has trouble following her.

When the spell is done, the dummy looks intact.

Rika sighs and says "aww... Nothing happened!"

Reimu smiles and points at the dummy as it falls on the ground sliced into many perfect pieces.

Rika smiles at Reimu and says "wow! I did that, my lady!"

Reimu continues to smile and says "and moving at that speed, you could make a certain crow quite jealous of you."

From inside the shrine, Marisa, looking groggy, pops her head out and asks "what's with all the noise?"

-

At the Youkai Forest, Ail meets with Aya for a seemingly shady meeting.

Aya stands behind a tree, wearing sunglasses and hiding under the shade.

Ail comes by, with Budou and Phredia right beside him.

In a serious tone, Aya says "thank you for coming. This information I'm about to relay isn't really classified, but I though it would be cool to do it like this... Err... I though I told yo to come alone."

Ail casually says "err... right. Look, could you just get on with it?"

Aya clears her through.

Ail rolls his eyes and sounding annoyed, he says "what's this all about.. agent Flash?"

Aya, in a serious, yet strangely ridiculous tone, says "I have been searching for those copies. Reports indicate that Yuka's copy looks to be very dangerous, as her expression suggest anger, rage, and lust for blood."

Ail ponders, while Budou and Phredia look around, exploring the surroundings.

Ail says "so, it's possible these aren't exact copies. Is that what you are saying?"

Aya, still in that ridiculous tone of voice says "report indicates that could be an actual fact. Also, there has been no sign of the Udonge anywhere, yet eyewitnesses claim they have seen a girl that looks just like her, only with darker hair, and much more cool-looking."

Ail sweats and says "could you please stop with that voice. Sounds creepy!"

Aya, in her usual voice says "alright, geez. What a spoil-sport! Anyway, it seems they are harmless, except for that one that attacked the fairy and..."

Both Ail and Aya look to the skies, feeling a tremor coming from the Hakurei Shrine.

Ail looks at Budou and says "Budou! Go to the Moriya Shrine! Stay there until I come for you!"

Budou says "right away, papa! But what is it?"

Ail and Aya look at each other, then Ail turns to Budou and says "danger."

Budou gasps and flies away toward the shrine, followed by Phredia.

Ail and Aya take to the skies with great speed, both creating a small vacuum around the area after lift-off, pulling the spinning Hina to a tree, knocking her head against it.

She gets up, shakes her head, then rubs the back of her head, saying "that was too much misfortune!"

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Marisa leaves, shouting "I'm gonna go check on my house, ze! I'll be back later!"

Reimu waves with her right hand, holding her broom with her left, then shouts "don't bring those mushrooms again!"

From the trees to the left, something watches on as Reimu orders Rika to go clean inside the shrine.

It watches on as Rika leaves to the shrine, then, with a low growl, it moves to strike, but Marisa returns just before it leaves it's hiding spot.

Marisa smiles and says "I forgot to ask you. Have you seen Mima-sama?"

Reimu chuckles and says "had to punish her for playing a mean prank on some villagers. She'll be out cold for some time."

Marisa sighs, then abruptly looks to her right.

Reimu looks along and asks "something bothering you?"

Marisa tips her hat and says "though I saw something... Must have been a fairy again. Ah well, see you later."

Something continues to watch from behind some bushes, and just as Marisa leaves the area, there is a wicked little giggle.

Reimu continues to sweep casually as she always does, lazily brushing leaves away.

She dodges to the left, just as a sharp white blade is about to strike her.

She prepares to strike with her broom, when she has to duck right out of the way as she sees herself, only with light-brown hair and wearing black clothes with blue outlines, and blue detached sleeves with black ribbons on them, trying to strike her with a heavy dark spell, smiling and giggling ever so innocently.

Reimu tries to flip kick, but the other one behind her drops to the ground just in time.

He looks just like Ail, except for his black shirt and no blessed bracelet.

Reimu backs away, pulls out her spell card and shouts "Divine-"

Before she can finish her declaration, Momiji comes from behind, moving as fast as Aya, and wielding a large black sword, and slashes Reimu on the back.

Copy Reimu takes advantage of this and strikes Reimu on the chest as hard as she can, with a big dark energy blob, making her scream in agony, then silently fall on the ground.

Copy Ail smiles and says "and now, let's end this, my love."

Copy Reimu giggles and says "Yay! I get my own little shrine."

Copy Momiji smiles, and in a very serious and dark undertone says "just finish the job before I kill you too."

Copy Ail makes a large white blade come from under his own skin on his forearm, then quickly thrust the blade straight at Reimu's throat, but is startled by Rika's shriek "MISS REIMU~!"

Rika throws a bucket and a broom straight at the attackers, making them back away, startled, then, after reaching, she kneels beside Reimu, examining her, breathing heavily and hoping for the best.

"Miss Reimu... Please answer me!"

-

Rika closes her eyes, brushing the hair of her mistress with her fingertips, then, when she opens them again, her eyes and pupils turn dark purple.

Her wavy hair starts to move on it's own, as if wind was coursing through it.

She grabs her mistress as copy Ail lunges to attack again, but Rika whispers "wind flash".

A bright flash of light blinds the attackers, and in an instant, the light dims down, and Rika stands right where she was before, but Reimu is no longer in her arms.

Copy Momiji asks "where is the other one?"

Rika silently grabs her spell card and in a dangerous tone of voice, she says "Oath Keeper"

Her spell card spins beside her, turning purple, opening a large purple gate she enters immediately, then comes out with 4 swords on a black belt, two on each side.

Marisa, who is halfway to reach her home, feels the tremor from the shrine and immediately turns around, thinking "what the hell is this? It's coming from the shrine... but this isn't Reimu..."

Rika unsheathes the sword on the lower left, and like a quick blur, she goes straight at copy Momiji, who blocks at the very last second, then, with her tail between her legs, she growls and says "this wasn't part of the deal. You are on your own!" then runs away, looking like a white blur, bouncing from tree to tree.

Rika turns her purple eyes to the two copies left.

They smile and copy Ail says "shall we, darling?"

Copy Reimu giggles and replies "I LOVE holding your hand, sweetie!"

The second their hands touch, a surge of energy pushes Rika back, but she continues to stare straight at them.

Both are flying now, so Rika follows them and says "you will DIE!"

A spell card flies in front of her dark purple eyes, then she shouts "Untitled - Darco Gessenkou"

In a flash, she gets right in front of the copies with all her swords sheathed.

Like a blur, she unsheathes two swords and unleashes two blade-like beams that cross each other, straight at the copies, who just smile as copy Reimu giggles and surrounds herself and copy Ail in a dark barrier that absorbs Rika's attack, however, Rika continues her attack and lunges to the air, then strikes their shield with her swords, sending them down hard.

Rika sheathes both swords, then, pointing both hands to the ground, she creates the shape of a moon, right where the copies and their shield are, then, inside the moon, countless dark bullets barrage the shield, which keeps absorbing the energy, making the shield itself much stronger.

After the attack ends, copy Reimu giggles and says "silly girl. Let me show you how it's done!"

Copy Reimu takes her shield and concentrates it around her hand, then sends it to Rika, who moves away just in time, but not noticing copy Ail and copy Reimu moving equally fast, and copy Ail striking her hard with one of his blades on her shoulder, then copy Reimu blasting her with a dark yin-yang energy orb that explodes on Rika's chest, sending her unconscious to the ground.

-

C-Ail and C-Reimu, still holding hands, walk closer to Rika.

C-Ail unleashes a very large white blade that grows from his elbow and to his hand, then he raises his arm, eager to strike down the unconscious Rika, but a red blur strikes his face, followed by a quick energy blast on C-Reimu's face that sends them both, still holding hands, back against a tree.

Marisa takes this chance, swoops down on her broom and takes Rika away with her.

Aya and Ail stand ready, as the two copies stand up, glaring angrily back at their attackers.

C-Reimu smiles while still scowling and says "honey, it seems we've got more company."

C-Ail replies "guess will have to run away, my darling."

Ail feels slightly ill after hearing them speak, but shouts "you're not going ANYWHERE!"

Aya's face is red with rage, clenching her teeth tightly and angrily says "you THINK I'll let you get AWAY after this!?"

Ail shouts "grab my hand!"

Aya immediately grabs Ail's hand, then he flings her toward the copies, making her spin fast, allowing her to create a small, but dangerous hurricane around herself, however, the copies hold hands again, and lunge forward, knocking Aya back with ease.

Ail gasps and fires various concentrated lasers and orbs at the copies, but they move too fast, avoiding being struck.

Ail shouts "CUT THEIR LINK!"

Aya swoops down at them at such speeds, the air around her turns red, and the copies can't follow in time, thus, Aya knocks their hands, making them break their bond, then Ail follows with a quick barrage of exploding orbs, causing mayor damage to both.

C-Reimu stays on the ground, crying, sobbing, and shouting "he burned my arm, he burned my ARM!"

C-Ail jumps to his feet and covers C-Reimu with his own body, glares at Ail and says "you haven't seen the last of us! Do it, my love!"

C-Reimu extends her unharmed arm, and a blinding flash emanates from her palm.

When the light dims down, both are gone.

Aya stares angrily around, then says "they got away."

Ail replies "never mind that. What about Reimu!?"

Quickly, Aya and Ail head inside the shrine, where Marisa has already placed Rika next to Reimu and is treating their wounds, keeping a smile on her face and holding back the sadness and rage in her eyes.

Ail asks "Marisa, are you alright?"

Marisa replies "Reimu's tough. She'll be ok... and Rika... When she wakes up, I want to talk to her. Yeah... they'll be just fine."

The copies of Ail and Reimu hide inside a cave.

C-Reimu continues to cry, then C-Ail says "give me your arm."

She hesitantly extends her left arm, showing a terrible burn on her forearm.

C-Ail pricks her with one of his nails, making her twitch, then quickly spits a black blob on the cut.

The blob penetrates her skin through the cut, and in a few seconds, her entire forearm is completely healed.

She stops crying, gives C-Ail a hug and a kiss on his cheek, then C-Ail says "that guy... I want to make him pay for this!"

C-Reimu asks "what are you planning, dear?"

C-Ail replies "I want to make him suffer... and then..."

C-Ail brushes C-Reimu's face with his fingertips and with his free arm, he unleashes a white blade and strikes a small winged creature, then stares at it as C-Reimu giggles contently.

-

Back at the shrine, after finishing with Rika's wounds, Marisa turns to Reimu, gently lifting her up to tend to the the cut on her back.

To her surprise, only her clothes are cut, then she says "heh, that's my Reimu!"

From outside, Ail asks "what is it?"

Marisa replies "that cut I told you about; it's just her clothes. She managed to protect her body."

Ail chuckles and says "I see" then ponders and asks "but why isn't she waking up, then?"

Before Marisa answers, Reimu suddenly wakes up, gasps, then runs outside, falling on the ground and vomiting a black blob.

Reimu yelps after that, and clenches her chest tightly.

Aya rushes to her, shouting "Reimu, get away from that!" pulling Reimu back inside, making the blob come in direct contact with the sunlight, turning to dust only a few seconds afterward.

Reimu breathes desperately, but manages to say "that... in my chest..."

Aya shushes her and says "rest, you stubborn miko!"

Ail gives her one of his spell cards and while holding her hand, making her hold the card, he says "Blast Sign - Expansion That Soothes."

About 30 orange orbs surround Reimu, then Ail surrounds himself with his barrier, allowing the orbs to explode on him, each explosion sending healing energies to Reimu.

Reimu takes a breath of relief and says "thanks... The pain was driving me crazy."

Ail and Aya smile, while Marisa simply looks on, thinking "look at what they did. This... paradise is not safe. Reimu, I'll find us a true paradise, I promise you."

Reimu turns to Marisa with a smile and says "it's alright, Marisa. I'm fine, see?"

Marisa snaps out of her thoughts, sweating and waving her hands while smiling and saying "ah, no, sorry about that. I was just thinking about some magic spell... yeah, that's it. A really powerful one too!"

Ail asks "Reimu, what happened?"

Reimu's explanation is immediately interrupted by Sanae, who lands in front of the shrine's entrance, shouting "I'm here! Where's the action!? I'm ready! They won't be able to penetrate my impenetrable defenses, just you wait!"

Immediately, Sanae gets knocked to the ground by a silver washtub that falls from the sky and rolls away just as Sanae falls face-first to the ground.

Ail rushes worriedly to her, lifting her up and turning her around, but finds her smiling dizzily and her eyes spinning, while repeating "im... penetrable... defenses... heh heh heh."

-

Having placed Rika in Reimu's room, Sanae and Aya return to the living room, where Ail has prepared some tea, helping Reimu recover faster.

Reimu takes one last gulp and says "there were three of them."

Ail and Aya look surprised, then Aya says "that's odd. When we got here, there were only yours and Ail's copies."

Reimu sighs and says "well, there must have been another. I had those two in my sight when I got attacked from behind. All I can remember about that third subject was the he, or she, carries an abnormally large black sword."

Aya thinks for a moment and suspiciously asks "abnormally large?"

Reimu interrupts Aya, saying in a strict tone "Ail, I am sure you saw what happens when those two copies hold hands."

Ail says " every time they do, their power increases to that of our own."

Reimu says "exactly! When separated, they are so weak, I can barely feel their presence. Lucky that third one is so strong, letting me sense her in time, or I'd have never been able to protect myself."

Sanae joins the conversation, saying "so, those copies are evil after all. What are we going to do?"

Reimu smirks and says "gee, I don't know. What do you think, Patchouli?"

Sanae and Aya look confused toward Reimu, then turn their sights to the entrance, where Patchouli, out of breath, holds herself up using the doorway for support, with Koakuma, smiling nervously at her side.

After sitting down and having some tea, Patchouli places a thick black book with brown borders on the table, opens a specific page, and says "sorry I couldn't make it sooner."

Reimu glances the page, then says "so you figure this out."

Patchouli calmly says "I wanted to come sooner, but we couldn't find this book in time. Well, the 'copies', as you call them, are actually shadows. They posses different abilities from us and are hard to tell apart from the original except for minor details, like say the eye colors, but in some rare cases, not only do they look exactly like the original, but could also posses the same abilities, however, lack experience with these."

Ail asks "any reason why they might be attacking?"

Patchouli lightly shakes her head and says "I remembered this book when that gap came to my library and chewed on Renko. The information is limited, but it should be helpful."

Aya, in a strict tone, asks "how do we beat them?"

Patchouli calmly replies "the same way we beat each other around."

Sanae sweats and says "that sounds a bit barbaric."

Marisa gets up and quietly heads outside.

Everyone stares, and Reimu asks "Marisa, what's wrong?"

Marisa smiles widely and says "everything's ok over here, so I'll be headed home. I turned around before reaching. Oh, Reimu, could you tell Rika I REALLY wish to see her later, is that ok?"

Confused, Reimu nods, but says nothing.

Without saying another word, Marisa sits on her broom and quietly flies away.

At that very moment, Rika comes form inside Reimu's room, asking "my lady!? My lady, are you there!?"

Ail says "wait.. Maybe Rika saw that third attacker!"

Rika stumbles to Reimu, tries to bow, but falls on her knees, then asks "why am I so tired? And when did I get this wound on my shoulder?"

-

At the Youkai Mountain, at the foot of the waterfall, Momiji plays Shogi with a long-haired kappa, and is winning the game.

Momiji's ears twitch as she hears Aya call for her form the distance.

She get up, bows and quickly says "I'm sorry, I have to go!" then jumps from stone to stone up the waterfall, looking like a white blur while doing so.

The kappa girl sighs and wipes the sweat off her forehead and says "phew, I almost lost it there."

Once on top of the waterfall, Momiji scans toward the direction of the call, spotting Aya far away at the Hakurei Shrine, then immediately jumps down the mountain, lands on the trees,and moves from tree to tree, looking like a white blur, arriving to the shrine in just a few minutes, standing in front of Aya, giving her a salute and saying "Momiji Inubashiri reporting to miss Aya. How can I be of-?"

Aya kicks Momiji hard on her stomach, sending her back against a tree.

Momiji coughs, quickly gets back on her feet, and shouts "miss Aya, what was that for!?"

Aya's face is red, her eyes filled with blind rage, clenching her teeth while glaring at Momiji.

In a dangerously angry tone of voice, Aya asks "why didn't you TELL me that thing bit you too!?"

Momiji's heart beats faster, her breath gets cold and heavy.

She opens her eyes wide and tries to ask "how did you-?"

Aya points to Reimu, who is inside the shrine, sitting next to Patchouli, Sanae and Koakuma, then says "your cop-, I mean... your SHADOW attacked Reimu from behind. We are LUCKY Reimu managed to protect herself in time!"

Momiji stutters, trying to explain her reasons for keeping silent, but Aya continues to slowly walk toward her, making her more nervous.

Momiji trips and falls on her back, then, with her tail between her legs, she crawls away from Aya, getting behind the tree she was knocked on to before.

She whimpers "m-miss Aya, please forgive me!"

Aya stands a few feet away, glaring at Momiji, when Rika gets in the way, looks at Aya in the eyes and says "miss Shameimaru, I did not tell you about that shadow just so you could take your anger out on her!"

Aya shouts back "she almost cost us Reimu!"

Aya peeks above Rika's shoulder and asks "why didn't you tell me!?"

From behind Aya, Ail says "her wolf's pride."

Aya looks back at Ail and asks "wolf---pride? What kind of excuse is that!?"

Ail walks to Momiji and helps her back up on her feet, then says "beating her up won't solve anything. Besides..."

Ail looks at Momiji, who turns her face away, keeping her tail between her legs and her ears as low as possible, looking sadly to the ground, then Ail continues "...I believe she's being punished enough."

Aya continues to glare angrily at Momiji, while Rika keeps in front of her.

Aya sighs, finally calming down, then in a clam tone of voice, she asks "what should we do now, then?"

Ail smiles at Reimu, who is smiling back at him, then both say at the same time "we hunt some shadows."

-

At Alice's house, Shinki holds Shanghai's hands, making her giggle as she swings the little doll in the air.

Alice comes from her room along with Hourai, who is now wearing a bright-red dress with a white apron and a red bow on her head.

Hourai sighs contently and says "ah, somehow red suits me very well, don't you think?"

Alice smiles and says "it sure does"

Shanghai stares curiously back at them, then flies closer to Hourai and says "but sis, wouldn't that mean that I am also suited for red?"

Hourai waves her little finger and says "no, no, you're more blue than red."

Shinki smiles and says "it's true. Your aura makes you more suited for blue."

Shanghai looks at herself, spinning in a circle while in the air, trying to look under herself, then excitedly says "I see it! Ohh, looks like a flame!"

Alice says "that's right.... but wait... Mom, does this mean they are truly independent? I mean, now that I look at them... they're no longer bound to my own magic."

Shinki smiles and says "that's right. These two are completely independent now, so you don't have to go around, spreading your energy and soul all over the place, like a BAD little girl!"

Shinki realizes Alice, Shanghai, and Hourai are staring straight at her, and her annoyed cross on her forehead, pulsating.

Shinki says "oh, my.. heh heh." then forcing a nervous smile, she grabs that cross and hides it in her pocket.

The room gets and awkward feeling as Alice and the dolls continue to stare at Shinki, but to her luck, the mood is broken by a repeated banging at the door, and Yumeko desperately calling. "Alice! Alice, please open up. There's something VERY wrong with lady Shinki! Alice, please answer me!"

Alice quietly heads to the door, while Shinki answers "Yumeko, is that you?"

Before Alice can open the door, Yumeko knocks it down, crushing Alice underneath it, then heads straight to Shinki and gives her a big hug while crying "my lady~! I was so worried!"

Shinki smiles and brushes Yumeko's hair with her fingers, saying in a calm and motherly tone "there, there, child. It's alright."

From outside, Mai shouts "um, Yumeko, I think you killed Alice."

Yumeko gasps and turns around to see the two small dolls trying to lift the door off from Alice with all their might.

Yumeko blushes and says "whoops... Sorry about that."

Mai enters and helps the dolls pull off the door, finding Alice on the floor with her eyes spinning while keeping a smile on her face.

-

At the Palace of the Earth Spirits, Satori walks casually to the sleeping Orin, who curled herself up on a window, holding her wheelbarrow underneath it, and smiling while dreaming of fish, boiled eggs, and spending more time with her master.

Meanwhile, Okuu flies inside the palace, looking for Satori, also wishing to spend some time with her.

Satori reaches Orin, pets her head, making her wake up peacefully.

She looks at Satori with sleepy eyes and says "miss Satori, good morning."

Satori calmly replies "more like, good afternoon. You slept all through the morning. I think it's about time you wake up."

Orin smiles, still staring at her master with sleepy eyes, then her cat ears twitch as she stretches and yawns one last time, then jumps to her feet on the ground, saying "right away, miss Satori!"

Satori quietly smiles, then says "don't forget you also promised Yamame to help her with the preparations for that party."

Orin opens her eyes wide and shouts "oh drat, that's right! I better get going!"

Satori, still with her quiet and small smile says "take care out there."

Orin rushes away with her wheelbarrow in hand and shouts "of course. See you later, miss Satori!"

Satori takes a deep breath and says "I think I'll go read something nice now."

Satori walks alone through the long corridor, when Okuu finally spots her, calling for her master and immediately landing next to her.

Okuu give Satori a hug and says "miss Satori~ I found you~!"

Satori yelps a little surprised, then says "Okuu, heh heh, calm down."

Okuu smiles as she lets go of her master, but her smile quickly vanishes, then she looks around very alert and looking ready to fly away at any moment.

Satori asks "Okuu, what is it? Danger? Where?"

Okuu pushes Satori to her right, just as the Random Sukima pops up and chomps down, gobbling Okuu instead.

Satori look on horror-struck and shouts "Utsuho! Okuu~!"

She gets up and grabs a spell card from her pocket and shouts "Recollection - Terrible Souv-" but before she finishes her declaration, the Sukima gulps Okuu, blows some steam from it's mouth, then disappears.

Satori desperately looks around, hoping to see Okuu, but she immediately realizes she's nowhere near there.

She runs to the palace exit, shouting "Koishi~! Orin~!" Her footsteps echo all over the now empty palace as she rushes outside to look for help.

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Ail and Sanae stand just outside the shrine, looking at Reimu as she instructs them.

"Remember, if they start holding hands, break their bond immediately." says Reimu.

Ail nods and says "I can always use a barrier for protection."

Sanae adds, in a dark and dangerous undertone "I'll break their hands before that happens!"

Ail backs away from Sanae, a sweat-drop falling from the back of his head.

Reimu looks a bit surprised, but shakes it off and says "er, right. Just be very careful, you two."

Ail and Sanae nod at the same time, then fly away, Sanae getting as close as she can to Ail, and not letting him get away.

Reimu slowly walks back inside the shrine.

Patchouli and Koakuma stand up as Reimu slowly sits back down, Patchouli saying "it's time we left. Marisa is out there and my books are unprotected."

Reimu says "wait, before you leave."

Patchouli and Koakuma turn their full attention to Reimu as she says "I need you to look for more information on these shadows... if you can. Maybe find a common weakness, a strength, anything you can find."

Patchouli smirks and says "alright, but my services won't come cheap..." Patchouli's voice turns from casual, to naughty, when she says "if you know what I mean?"

Reimu sighs and says "fine, let's get this over with!"

Reimu starts undoing her neckerchief, which makes Patchouli's eyes get cast in shadow and her cheeks to turn bright red, then says "MUKYUU! What are you doing!? I was talking about those peach pies of yours!"

Reimu laughs and says "sorry, haha! That was a joke."

Patchouli pouts, then leaves, flying away as soon as she's out the door, Koakuma following and saying "let's play, miss Patchouli."

A loud thump, followed by Koakuma's yelp, makes Aya take a few pictures while saying "I'll need more information."

From inside, Reimu says "Aya, forget about that now. I'll need your help."

Aya looks back with a serious expression and asks "help with what?"

Reimu looks to Rika, who is sleeping soundly in a futon close to the table, then looks back at Aya and says "you and I are hunting down Momiji's shadow."

Aya smiles and says "why not send those two after her instead? Look, you can barely stand for more than 5 minutes. Wait, why not let me and Momiji-"

Reimu raises her hand, opening it in mid-air, signaling Aya to stop talking, then says "Ail and Sanae may be strong, but they still lack the experience you and I have, and also... If what Rika says is true, we'll need the wind on our side to beat her. You understand what I'm saying?"

Aya stares at Reimu for a bit, then smirks and says "alright, but first, I want you to rest a little more."

Reimu replies "we don't have time for that!"

Aya smiles as she walks to Reimu, pokes her forehead, pushing her down, and while she continues to smile, she says "you're going to have to make some time."

Outside the shrine, still sitting under the same tree, Momiji listens to the conversation, however, she is lost in her own thoughts, looking down to her feet, unblinking and silent.

-

At the Human Village, at the market area, Shadow Momiji walks around, bumping anyone that gets in her way, and if anybody dares say anything, she threatens them with her sword.

Farther away are Suwako, Budou and Phredia.

Suwako holds a small note and says "let's see here. Sanae wants a few vegetables... ah, seems we've run out of rice too."

She slouches and says "why doesn't Kanako come help me once in a while?"

Budou giggles and says "big sister, remember that grandmothers like gramma Kanako need to rest a lot."

Suwako tries her best to hold her laughter in, but explodes laughing, and for a moment, she almost falls on the floor laughing, but she notices the villagers staring at her, so she clears her throat, composes herself, then says "yes, you are very right. Maybe we should get her a heating pad for her back."

Budou and Phredia look curiously at Suwako, then Budou asks "what's a heating pad?"

Suwako smiles and rests her head on her forearms as she stretches her arms behind herself, then says "it's something from the world outside. I'll explain it to you later."

In front of them, Ran and Chen just purchase some fruits, then Budou excitedly exclaims "Chen~!"

Equally excited, Chen exclaims "Budou~! How are you!?"

The two little girls run to each other, giggling and jumping with excitement.

Upon reaching each other, Suwako and Ran greet, then Suwako says "heh, seems like they're having fun, doesn't it?"

Chen and Budou run to Ran and Suwako, and with their cute little eyes, placing their hands together as if praying, both ask "may we go and play?"

Suwako's eyes get cast in shadow as she thinks "wh-what is this..? I want to say no, but I can't!"

Suwako hides her shock and says "well, I don't know. What do you think miss?"

Ran smiles at them, sparkles shining around her face and her nose bleeding a little.

She sighs and says "sure, why not? They are both good little girls, right?"

Suwako sweats and says "er, sure... right..."

Both Budou and Chen jump in place, cheering excitedly,then Chen says "come on, I'll show you a fun place to play!"

Budou nods with a smile on her face and lightly flapping her wings, then she and Chen run away from the market.

Ran looks at Suwako and asks "don't you want to go play too?"

Suwako forces a nervous smile and says "err, no, I have things to do now."

Ran smiles and says "my, you are so mature for your age!"

Suwako looks away while she and her hat both sweat as Suwako says "right... mature."

-

Near the exit of the market area, S-Momiji smirks and thinks "finally, I though this dump was eternal... look at them. Disgusting humans. I wish I could just cut them all to pieces right now."

As she thinks this, she scans around with her narrow, blood-thirsty eyes, the urge to kill the humans increasing with very person she sees walk by.

She just exits the market, passing by one last, run-down kiosk, when Kyo shouts "oy~! Momiji~!"

Kyo runs to her, pats her shoulder, and says "heh-hey~, Momiji, what are you doing around here?"

S-Momiji, in a dark undertone, says "get away from me, rookie!"

Kyo stands frozen in place, his hand floating in the air. takes another step, but a ruby-colored sword with a red aura around it floats just beside her neck. Kyo threateningly asks "who are you?"

S-Momiji smirks, and for a moment, she just stands there, but she ducks fast and kicks behind herself, striking Kyo on his lower abdomen and sending him flying back with force.

Kyo manages to land on his feet, holding his abdomen and saying "why, you dirty, no-good doppelganger!"

S-Momiji unsheathes her large black sword from her back, and with rage in her narrow eyes, she shouts "watch that mouth of yours, you sack of organs, or I'll skewer you like a pig!"

The people take notice of the commotion and start running away, some screaming in fear, while others shout "call the Hakurei maiden!"

The area around them is now empty, except for the kiosks and stands left unattended. Kyo and S-Momiji stare each other down, then Kyo launches toward her, swinging his sword with all his might.

S-Momiji manages to defend herself with the sword, but is sent back with great force, however, she manages to keep on her feet.

She smirks and says "not bad for a novice like yourself! Now, let me show you how it's REALLY done!"

S-Momiji moves around so fast, she becomes invisible to Kyo's eyes.

She appears behind Kyo, and in that instant, she swings her blade, trying to cut his back.

Kyo manages to duck in time, then tries to kick S-Momiji's feet, but she is on the move again, and what's behind Kyo, is actually an after-image.

Kyo thinks "she fights dirty. I need to keep my guard up!"

Kyo takes the amplifier out of his pockets and while getting up, he puts it on, and immediately, his energy sword glows bright red.

Again, S-Momiji appears right behind Kyo, but Kyo reacts in time and intercepts her blade, holding on to her arm.

The shadow tries to punch his face, but Kyo calls back his sword and grabs her fist, then both start matching kicks, successfully blocking all attacks from each other, then both push each other back.

S-Momiji thinks "what the hell is this? He's matching my moves!"

Kyo stances ready for hand-to-hand combat, when Suwako jumps to his left, and Ran to his right.

S-Momiji sheathes her sword, then says "tch! Just like the weaklings you are. You can't even take me on one-on-one. Well, whatever. Smell ya later, butt-heads!" then runs away fast, looking like a blur on the road.

Suwako says "that was a shadow! What is THAT thing doing here!?"

Kyo says "I don't know, but she fights dirty, and doesn't hold back."

Ran gasps and shouts "CHEN~!"

Suwako smacks herself on both cheeks, gasping in horror and saying "oh, no! Budou!"

Kyo face-palms and says "geez, let go look for them!"

-

Medicine and Luna scan around the bushes and trees at the Hakurei Shrine, when Medicine shouts "found it~!"

Luna runs to her, and after arriving close to her, Medicine, who holds the silver washtub in her hands, says "wow, Kyo was right. You could have killed him with this!"

Luna sighs and says "wow~... it really got some distance."

Medicine smiles and says "just be thankful nobody got hurt with this."

Luna nods with a smile on her face and says "you're right. That would have been most unfortunate, don't you think?"

-

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Luna, Budou & Phredia were created by Willie G.R.

Rika and Rika's spell cards were created by Snapshot 2010

Mayor assistance by Snapshot 2010

NOV 10 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N: About Rika:**

**My friend, Snapshot2010, made this character, but he couldn't accommodate her in his own fics, and he was giving her away, however, the people who wanted Rika, wanted her to work under an abusive Reimu, which, in my opinion, is just not Reimu. Mind you, I do find abusive Reimu funny, in the right portions, that is. Same as Meiling abuse, and Aki sisters abuse. They can be funny, but sometimes they can be taken too far. Now, I took Rika to save her character from this; to show what my friend wanted to show with this character (of course, adding some things myself as well, in order to better accommodate Rika into my own world and story.)**

**Rika's Spell Card names: "Neppa Senpuujin" which means (("Searing Gale")) and "Darco Gessenkou" which means (("Dark Moon Glare"))**

**I would also like to note that... it's true, caves are nice.  
**

Rika (Hakurei Shrine's Maid)

Orphaned after a terrible tragedy, and brought back to life, using state-of-the-art technology by Erich, and trained by VIVIT and various other maids in order to become an excellent maid herself, she is brought to Gensokyo via-Yukari's gap, and serves Reimu to her best ability. She lives to serve her master, loves nature, very energetic and hyperactive at times, but most importantly, she loves Reimu's peach pies. One thing to note is, anyone speaking ill of her master near her finds him/herself at Eirin's Clinic.

She has long wavy brown hair that reaches her waist, and an enchanting pair of light-blue eyes, the color of the sky. She wears a common kimono-style shrine maiden outfit. The bottom skirt is white with red Strips from both sides that go to the bottom end of her skirt. The upper part is white and long sleeved, much like Reimu's old outfit, and around her neck, she wears a big red ribbon with flame designs and the letters in kanji for "The Will of Fire" half written in one part of the ribbon, the other half at the other part of the ribbon, and on the middle of the ribbon, Reimu's gift to Rika, the yin-yang sapphire, which allows her to fly. She treasures this gift from Reimu. (Note that "The Will of Fire" means the will to never give up and do what is needed to improve on one's self.)


	12. Chapter 11

Marisa finally arrives at her house feeling sad and enraged, but continues to suppress her feelings, making herself feel even more depressed.

She notices the melted ice leading straight to her door.

She quietly stares at it for some time, then opens her eyes wide while taking a breath of air, then, her eyes turning dangerous, her face showing intent to kill, and grabbing her Hakkero from under her hat, she says to herself "a thief..."

Slowly, she opens the door, and while pointing her miniature reactor inside the house, she tip-toes inside.

She looks around and finds nothing missing.

She thinks "everything seems to be in place." then turns to her kitchen.

She notices bread, rice, half-eaten fruits, and a picture of herself when she used to wear the purple outfit on the floor.

She looks around curiously, then jumps in place upon hearing a thumping sound coming from inside one of her cabinets.

She walks quietly toward the cabinet, grabs the small knob, and while still pointing her Hakkero toward the small door, the furiously opens it and shouts "don't shoot, or I'll move!! Argh, dammit I screwed it up! Move, and I'll shoot!"

To her surprise, she finds Yuki sleeping happily inside the cabinet, covered in small cuts and blowing one large nose bubble.

Marisa continues to point her Hakkero, but when she realizes it's Yuki, she growls angrily and says "grrah! It's just that girl again!"

Yuki's nose bubble explodes very violently just as she starts opening her eyes.

She stretches while still inside the cabinet, looks at Marisa with her sleepy eyes, and with a groggy voice, she says "well, good morning, miss. I was waiting for you all night."

Marisa smiles, but the atmosphere around her suggested something else.

She hides her Hakkero again, then reaches for Yuki, pulling her out of the cabinet violently, pulls her close to her face, and asks "where is the melon I was saving for tonight?"

Yuki smiles and says "ah, I ate it... sorry about that."

Marisa lets go of Yuki, and almost instantly, she drops to the ground, placing her left arm on the floor, her forehead on top of it, then bangs on the floor with her other arm and cries "but I was saving that! Waaah~!"

Yuki sweats and says "sorry about that. It's just that while waiting for you, this mouth came over. We talked for a bit, and then the bastard started chewing on me."

Marisa raises her head and stares at Yuki with concern, then Yuki adds "after all that I woke up feeling even more hungry... so, err, I ate a few things. Hope you don't mind."

Marisa grabs Yuki by her shoulders, and while shaking her, she asks "Yuki, don't you know you got bitten by the Random Sukima!? ARGH! There should be a shadow of you around here somewhere now!"

Yuki tries to keep her balance after Marisa lets her go, then asks "a shadow? What do you mean?"

Marisa growls and says "never mind!"

Suddenly, Marisa realizes Yuki is wearing bloomers on her head.

She points at her and asks "err, any reason why you're wearing underwear on your head?"

Yuki grabs the underwear, stares at it for a moment, then says "so that's why I feels so uncomfortable right now."

Marisa's face turns blue, while some dressing sounds come from right in front of her, and now Yuki has her hat on her head, saying "ahh, much better, don't you think?"

Marisa's eyes hide under her hair, as she continues to stare at Yuki horror-struck.

-

Ail and Sanae continue to fly all over Gensokyo, trying to find Ail and Reimu's shadows.

Sanae wraps her arm around Ail's and doesn't seem to want to let go.

Ail thinks "why is she so angry... and so clingy? Did..? I think I made her mad. I better apologize!"

He starts saying "Sanae, I'm-" but Reimu's voice comes from one of his pockets.

Both Ail and Sanae look curiously toward the left-side middle pocket on his pants.

Ail manages to open the zipper and pulls out a small violet yin-yang orb.

From it, Reimu's voice is heard, asking "Ail, Sanae, can you guys hear me!?"

Sanae grabs Ail's arm so tightly, it gets purple almost immediately, but Sanae doesn't seem to notice as she glares at the orb, and in a murderous tone of voice, asks "how did you get this in that pocket?"

Reimu says "relax, I just slipped it in there when nobody was looking, then close the zipper."

Sanae's expression changes back to normal as she smiles and says "ok then." then let's go of Ail's hand, allowing him to take a deep breath of relief.

He blows on his hand as it returns to normal color and asks "why did you put this thing here!?"

Reimu says "relax. I just wanted to keep in contact... oh, Ail, seems you have something in your nose."

Ail blushes, then shouts "could you just get on with it!?"

Reimu pauses for a moment, then says "Ail, Sanae... ugh, look, can I call you two 'Energy Gusts'? Naming both all the time might get annoying."

Ail is about to answer, when Sanae answers for him "that sounds PERFECT, Reimu. Thank you!"

Reimu replies "don't mention it."

Ail sweats, but prefers to keep quiet.

Reimu continues "Energy Gusts, I just received a quick update from Patchouli. It seems these shadows emanate light energy waves every hour or so. Ail, if you can pick up on that, you should be able to find those two."

Ail closes his eyes and concentrates right after saying "right away."

Sanae stares at Ail as he concentrates and keeps flying with ease.

Ail opens his eyes and says "Reimu, there are at LEAST 19 of those shadows... and it seems the ones we're looking for are near by."

Reimu sighs and says "I was afraid you were going to say that. Concentrate on your target, Energy Gusts. No use hunting for more than you can handle. Did I make myself clear?"

Ail and Sanae salute, then Ail adds "Reimu, I did feel one abnormally powerful shadow by the Misty Lake. After we're done here, we should regroup and investigate this, alright?"

Reimu keeps silent for a moment, then Aya says "Reimu needs rest, so don't count on her yet, you got that? Red Flash, signing out!"

From behind Aya, Reimu asks "Red Flash?"

Aya replies "that's our team name!"

Reimu and Aya continue to argue, so Ail lets go of the orb, then its start spinning around him, so he has to listen through Reimu and Aya's argument.

Sanae smiles and says "just ignore them."

Ail sighs and says "well, seems the shadows we're looking for are hiding near the tengu's mountain."

Sanae smiles, then in a cool tone of voice, she says "let's get them, Ail!"

-

At the underground cave, Yamame is giving instructions to all present while hanging upside-down from a web string, in order to prepare for their first large-scale underground party in years.

Orin moves around as fast as she can with her wheelbarrow full of all sort of party ornaments.

Orin hands Yuugi a few rolls of streamers, then rushes away.

Yuugi gives Parsee a green roll, which Parsee stares at for a while, then says "why do I get the green one? Why can't I have the pink one?"

Yuugi smiles and says "sure, here you go." then takes the green one away, then gives Parsee the pink one now.

Parsee stares at it, then notices Yuugi also changed to a blue one.

Parsee says "that's no fair! Why didn't you give me the blue one?"

Yuugi continues to smile and repeats "sure, here you go" then takes the pink one back, giving Parsee the blue one.

Yuugi switches the blue one for the green one again, then Parsee, sounding quite annoyed, says "you're doing that on purpose, aren't you!?"

Yuugi chuckles and says "I just love messing with ya."

Shortly after, everyone turns their attention toward the deeper parts of the underground after hearing Satori calling for Orin in a very desperate tone.

With tears in her eyes, Satori shouts "ORIN~! Orin, it's Okuu~!" as she runs as fast as she can toward the crowd.

Orin lets go of her wheelbarrow, feeling great anxiety upon seeing her master like that.

Unconsciously, Orin runs toward Satori, who drops to her knees, breathing heavily, trying to recover herself.

Orin starts to cry as well after she kneels in front of her master, holds her shoulders, and asks "miss Satori, what is it? Why are you crying!?"

Satori recovers her breath and quickly says "Orin. Some... THING, came out of nowhere and ate Okuu. I can't find her anywhere!"

Orin gasps and immediately grabs Satori and gives her a piggy-back ride, runs to Yamame and quickly says "sorry, Yamame, but we have an emergency!"

Yamame nods and asks "need help?"

Orin answers "with miss Satori and me, it should be more than enough."

Satori, while resting on Orin's back, asks Orin "shouldn't you be thinking about Okuu?"

Yamame asks "what is she thinking?"

Satori answers "she's thinking of a name for our team."

Yamame nods as she ponders and says "oh, that's important. Say, Orin, how about 'The All Seeing Cat'?"

Orin exclaims with amazement, then says "no wait. How about 'Master and Pet's Lo-'!"

Satori strikes Orin on the head, knocking her down and landing on her own feet.

Yamame gets in front of her, cutting herself from her web string and says "I can't let you pass until you come up with a name for yourselves."

Satori sighs then shouts "Orin, that's NOT appropriate!"

Orin gets up, rubbing her head, then asks "why don't you try, miss Satori?"

Satori places her elbow on her left hand, while rubbing her forehead with her right hand, then snaps her fingers and says "Master Corpse Collector"

A beam of light drops on Satori, as Orin, who is wearing a white dress with angel wings kneels to her master's right, grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it, saying "oh~, miss Satori, you are so great!"

Satori simply stands there without saying another word, then a lantern drops from above, missing Satori by an inch, then Kisume comes down inside her little bucket, smiling nervously and saying "sorry, it slipped."

-

At Alice's house, Mai and Yumeko explain an odd situation at Makai.

Yumeko takes a sip of tea made by Shanghai, then says "wow, this is really good."

Shanghai floats in the air and bows her tiny head, saying "thank you very much"

Yumeko then turns to Shinki and says "lady Shinki, there's an impostor in Makai, claiming to be you, but she's very stupid and is hurting many of our brothers and sisters!"

Shinki's cheeks puff and turn a rose as she says "what? Yumeko, this is unforgivable! Who could be doing that!? Ugh, Alice, I'm heading home now. Thanks for everything!"

Alice says "whoa, mom, I'm not letting you go alone. Shanghai, Hourai!"

The two dolls fly straight to Alice's shoulders as soon as they are called.

Shinki stares at Alice as she picks her black locked book and stands ready to leave, then says "Alice, this could get dangerous. I think you better stay."

Alice, sounding a little annoyed, says "mom, I can take good care of myself. Besides, you might need my help too!"

Yumeko adds "my lady, this black-haired impostor does have as much power as you do."

Shinki rubs her chin while thinking for a moment, then gives in and says "alright, you can come, but at the first sign of danger, you run straight home, you hear me, young ladies!"

Alice, Mai and Yuka look at each other, then back at Shinki, who says in a very strict tone "I am serious! Don't you dare go risking your lives. That goes for you, Yumeko!"

Yumeko looks down, blushing and unable to answer.

Alice smiles and says "alright, mom, we'll do as you say."

Shinki smiles as she usually does and happily says "good. Then let's get going!"

Shinki, followed by Mai, Alice and Yumeko, leave the house and head straight to Makai, Alice saying "this is gonna be fun."

Shanghai says "Hourai, let's show Alice what we can do, ok?"

Hourai excitedly adds "no holding back, sis."

-

Flying around the tengu's mountain for the third time, Ail and Sanae are just about to give up.

Sanae even lets go of Ail, letting him fly freely around the mountain one more time.

When he returns, he says "look, let's just rest for a moment. Flying around like this is not helping us at all."

Sanae nods and says "let's go to my shrine. I'll fix us up something good to eat."

Meanwhile, all the way down the mountain, just outside the Youkai Forest, playing around the river, are Budou and Chen, sending leaves, flowers, and whatever else they can find down it's current and watching as everything floats away.

Chen giggles and says "this is much more fun with friends!"

Budou and Phredia smile, then Budou says "yeah! I'm glad to be your friend!"

Chen smiles back, but suddenly frowns.

Her tails get puffy and frizzy, then says "Budou, let's go back!"

Budou gets a little nervous and asks "What's wrong?"

From behind her, a wild bat-like youkai comes and grabs her by her wings, making her scream with fright.

The youkai slurps and smacks her lips, then says "two tasty morsels, all for me. Let's start with you, little bat."

The youkai opens her mouth, ready to bite down on Budou's neck, but she's stopped by Phredia, who comes out of hiding and unleashes a blinding flash, along with a large stone thrown by Chen that strikes her forehead.

The youkai screams in pain, letting go of Budou, placing her hands on her face, shouting "my eyes! My head! ARGH!"

The youkai recovers quickly, firing danmaku all over the two girls, cornering them against the river.

She gets closer while Chen faces her bravely, hissing and shouting "get away!"

Budou trembles behind Chen, then starts to cry, calling for her mama and papa.

Phredia comes out of hiding once more, then gets in front of the youkai, who laughs and says "what are YOU going to do!? Make me laugh to submission!?"

Phredia places both hands together to the left side of her body and starts generating a bright ball of golden and white energy, but stops and flies straight back to Budou.

The youkai starts laughing, but doesn't notice a gap opening just behind her.

From inside the gap, looking furious and ready to kill, come Ail and Sanae, who grab the youkai, drag her inside the gap, followed by many smacking, thumping and cracking sounds, then the youkai comes out looking like a balled piece of paper and is sent flying far away into the sky, and all that is seen of it, is a small glint in the sky.

The gap closes, Chen Relaxes, Budou stops crying and opens her eyes, then, as they look around, Ran and Suwako come running to them, calling for them worriedly.

Chen calls back, and quickly, both Suwako and Ran reach the two girls, both holding them and giving them a hug, Suwako saying "you had us so worried!"

Ran adds "are you alright? Nothing happened, right?"

Chen and Budou look at each other, then giggle, then Chen says "nothing the two of us couldn't handle."

Suwako and Ran set the girls on the ground, smiling widely, then a pair of silver washtubs fall from the sky on Ran and Suwako's heads.

After rubbing their heads for some time, Ran grabs a note that is stuck on Suwako's hat and reads "take care of them, or it'll be you next, love Ail and Sanae."

Suwako can't help but feel a cold chill crawling up her spine as Ran asks "do you know what they're talking about?"

Suwako continues to tremble as she quietly shakes her head.

The two girls look on confused, but shrug and smile, then, while hugging their respective guardians, Budou gives Suwako a kiss on her cheek, making her feel much better immediately.

-

Back at the Moriya Shrine, at the porch of the shrine, Ail and Sanae sit next to each other, both eating the last dumplings in their plate as Kanako watches from a distance, using her fingers to shape a target, and aiming said target straight at Ail.

She says to herself "target locked-on. You may fire when ready, Yasaka. Roger that, lady Kanako."

She snickers and says "I got you now."

At that very moment, Ail gasps and says "Sanae! I found them."

Sanae jumps to her feet and excitedly says "alright! Let's finish this, then... it's gonna get dark soon!"

Ail sweats, but shakes it off and says "They're not far. Let's go!"

Sanae and Ail jump to the air and leave in a hurry, Sanae clinging on to Ail again, and just as they are in the air, a small log with charms on it flies just past Ail's feet and straight inside the shrine, followed by loud crashing and cracking noises.

Kanako looks on with her eyes cast in shadow and her mouth widely open as the log destroys the shrine inside.

She imagines Sanae and Suwako giving her a good scolding, then composes herself and says "note to self. Don't fire Onbashira toward the house, no matter how sure I am I won't miss."

She crosses her arms around her chest and with a serious look in her face, she nods.

After a few seconds, she gasps and panics, then shouts "no time to be acting cool! I have to clean this up!" then runs inside the shrine, and soon after, sounds of hammering, sawing and drilling can be heard echoing all around.

-

Ail and Sanae arrive to a cave located to the right side of the tengu's waterfall.

Inside, they can hear some whispers, so Ail signals Sanae to keep quiet.

Sanae prepares various charms and her gohei, and Ail prepares his barriers around him and Sanae, then both nod at each other, pressing on deeper into the darkness.

They find Shadow Reimu sleeping on some rocks, and just like that, the violet yin-yang starts circling Ail, but keeps quiet.

Ail is just about to capture the shadow when Reimu, from the yin-yang orb, shouts "BEHIND YOU!"

In a blink, 5 white blades miss Ail and Sanae by mere inches.

S-Reimu gets up from the rock, shooting a dark yin-yang orb at Ail, but Ail's barrier bounces it back to S-Reimu, making S-Ail jump in front and taking the full blast head-on.

S-Reimu shouts "HONEY~! I'm sorry!"

S-Ail shouts back "don't worry! Let's go outside!"

S-Reimu nods, then touches S-Ail's hand and blasts a large hole on the wall that rattles the tengu, making them scatter, ready for battle.

Still holding hands, the shadows make swift work of the large number of tengu, knocking them out of the way in order to escape, but Ail and Sanae fly right behind them, Sanae looking increasingly threatening with each passing moment.

S-Ail shouts "DO IT!" but before S-Reimu is able to use her blinding spell, Sanae sends a charm that clings to S-Reimu's wrist, making her scream in pain, and both shadows falling to the ground immediately.

S-Ail quickly grabs S-Reimu and presses his cheek against her, managing to soften the fall.

Ail and Sanae quickly follow, Sanae covered in flames as she growls.

Ail shouts "Sanae, calm down! Focus or we're going to get killed!"

Just like that, Sanae takes a deep breath and calms down, then says "sorry... just got a little overexcited."

S-Ail tries desperately to cut the charm off S-Reimu, who continues to sob as the charm keeps sending shocks into her bare skin every three seconds, but he is unable to.

Clenching his teeth, his face red with rage, he screams "GET THAT THING OFF of her... NOW!!!"

Ail feels a small pressure emanation from his shadow self, then shouts "Sanae, get ready... his power... it's rising on its own!"

Sanae glares at the shadow, prepares her gohei, then says "then let's stop him now!"

Sanae moves her gohei in front of her, shaping a pentagram and chanting in a strange dialect.

Five pentagrams, three blue and large, two white and small, materialize just above her, then , spinning fast and looking like large blue and white blades, fly immediately toward S-Ail, who quickly grabs S-Reimu and jumps out of the way.

Sanae growls angrily, stomping on the ground once.

Ail looks at her and with great concern, he asks "Sanae, what's the matter? You're out of control!"

Sanae glares toward the shadows and shouts "after them!"

From the yin-yang orb, Reimu says "Sanae, get a hold of yourself! You're gonna end up hurt, or worse!"

Sanae closes her eyes for a moment, allowing a small tear to escape her right eye.

Ail notices, but turns his sight away.

From the orb, Reimu shouts "you're giving them too much time! They're gonna run away!"

Ail grabs Sanae's hand and looks at her with his usual calm smile and says "let's go get them."

Sanae smiles back, calming down as she does, then nods and says "s-sorry about that."

Reimu shouts "hunt now, kiss later!"

Sanae and Ail both turn red, then Ail says "l-let's get going."

-

Having gotten far enough, S-Ail tries to break Sanae's seal from S-Reimu once more.

A small white blade springs from under his fingernail, then he looks at the crying S-Reimu and says "this might hurt."

S-Reimu gulps as S-Ail thrusts the small blade on to the charm.

It starts sending off many jolts, making S-Reimu cry in pain, making him feel more desperate, and in a forceful push, he manages to strike the charm, making it break into pieces and freeing his beloved companion.

After it's done, both shadows hug, then immediately hold their hands, increasing their powers and hover just above the ground just as Ail and Sanae reach them.

S-Reimu surrounds herself and S-Ail in a dark bubble, then starts to giggle wickedly.

Sanae glares at them, but manages to keep herself calm, then asks "what do we do now?"

Ail grabs Sanae's hand again, then says "we work together. Make another one of those stars."

Sanae immediately starts chanting and moving her gohei around, shaping a star in the air.

A large blue star forms just above Ail and Sanae, and as it starts spinning, it's width expands even more with green energy, then flies toward the shadows, who laugh, confident that S-Reimu's shield will hold.

The star strikes the shield, but it immediately bounces back, so Ail shouts "energy gust!"

Sanae catches on quick, and releases a gust of wind from her gohei that wraps itself around Ail's blue energy orb, then the combined energies strike the spinning star, making it bounce back to the shadows with extra force.

Again, the star strikes the shield, but this time, it starts cutting right through.

S-Ail grabs S-Reimu's shoulder, crossing his forearm across her chest and pushing her back along with him fast enough to avoid being cut by the star as it cuts a piece of the shield clean off, then continues it's way toward the skies.

Again, the shadows are grounded, but this time, S-Reimu gets angry and shouts "you almost cut my sweetheart, you green-haired wench!" then pulls out a black-colored spell card.

Ail and Sanae stare awestruck, and Reimu and Aya, from the orb, shout "THEY HAVE SPELL CARDS!?"

S-Reimu lifts her spell card above her head and while still holding on to S-Ail's hand, she shouts "Most Evil Surprise Miko Orbs"

S-Reimu and S-Ail hold both hands and start floating in the air, dancing as if in a ballroom.

As they dance in the air, and each time they kiss, large dark yin-yang orbs materialize around them, then slowly head toward Ail and Sanae.

Although easy to dodge, the dark energy is thick, and even if it's inches away, it can cause burns.

Ail and Sanae jumps separate ways, then Ail shouts "Sanae, don't get close to them!" as he holds his elbow, which has just been in contact with one of the orbs, then continues "they burn like hell!"

Sanae growls and says "now you've done it!"

Sanae pulls a spell card form her pocket, then shouts "Wonder - Night with Overly Bright Guest Stars!"

Sanae uses her gohei and makes another star symbol while chanting and holding her other hand up in the air.

Meanwhile, Ail wraps his hands in barriers and uses them as bats to bounce back any orb that heads toward Sanae, while she prepares her spell.

S-Ail desperately says "sweetie, we better hit them hard, now!"

S-Reimu puts on a naughty face and says "then let's get busy, dear."

The shadows kiss passionately, and each second that pass as they continue to kiss, makes the dark yin-yang orb larger and larger.

Ail thinks "I can't bounce that back. Sanae, better hurry!"

Sanae's face turns red and she starts losing concentration, but she manages to continue summoning power to her spell, and in an instant, she shouts and unleashes a bright light to the sky, just as the shadows stop kissing and unleash their dark orb.

The the shadow's dismay, Sanae's bright energy burns their dark orb away, then both start screaming in pain as the light burns them.

The bright light continues it's punishment, and then, just like that, it stops, and both shadows fall to the ground next to each other.

-

Ail and Sanae walk toward the collapsed shadows.

From the yin-yang orb, Reimu says "good job, you guys. Try to bring them back. I wish to ask them some questions."

Ail nods and replies "understood" but Sanae shouts "these things are full of darkness and evil, Reimu. We should finish them off while we can."

Reimu replies "Sanae... you and I need to have a little chat when you come back."

Sanae sighs, then says "fine... let's get them over..."

Ail grabs Sanae's shoulder and pulls her back just as S-Ail springs 6 large blades from his back.

He struggles to get up and calls back his blades, then, trying to stay on his feet, he growls and says "you are not TOUCHING her while I'm alive, you hear me!?"

Ail looks back at his shadow's eyes and sees great purpose behind them.

He backs away and says "S-Sanae... I... I think these creatures are really... in love."

S-Ail snaps "who are you calling a creature!?"

Sanae sighs, glares at Ail through the corner of her eyes, and thinks "you think!? Geez, is he playing dumb?" but she clears her throat and says "look, let's just capture them so we can-"

The star Ail and Sanae managed to unleash at the beginning of the battle returns to the battleground from behind S-Ail, who fails to see it in time.

By the time he turns around, he realizes he can't avoid it before it strikes.

Ail and Sanae close their eyes and turn away as the star strikes it's target, but to their surprise, they hear a girl screaming in agony.

When they open their eyes, the star is gone, and S-Reimu lies on the ground with a large vertical cut on her torso, sobbing as S-Ail holds her hand and desperately shouts "I got you! I'll heal you, so don't worry!!!"

He spits black blobs on the cut, but realizes S-Reimu is being purified and his attempts for healing turn useless.

He gasps and starts to cry along with her.

She places her hand on his cheek and coughs a dark substance that looks like blood, then says "I... I'm sorry. I was... too weak."

S-Ail grabs her hand and holds it to his face, then says "don't say that. You did all that you could and more."

S-Reimu smiles as S-Ail leans over to give her one last kiss, but before their lips touch, her body shatters and turns into a dark dust cloud.

S-Ail starts to sob uncontrollably, then jerks his body to the sky and shouts as loud as he can.

Ail and Sanae continue to watch, and even though these creatures are evil, and need to be stopped at all costs, they can't help but feel great sadness after witnessing these events.

Ail looks to Sanae and notices she's struggling to hold back her tears, but even so, some escape her eyes.

He grabs a small napkin from his pocket and dries her tears off, then he turns around and realizes, S-Ail is standing there, staring at them with murderous desires in his tear-covered eyes.

-

S-Ail clenches his teeth as his tears continue to run through his cheeks and shouts, at the top of his lungs "YOU KILLED HER!"

From the orb, Reimu says "*sob* A-Ail, Sanae, it's not over yet! *sob* D-don't let your guard down."

Ail notices S-Ail glaring straight toward Sanae, so he gets in front of her and opens a barrier.

S-Ail stops crying, then starts breathing in the black cloud left my S-Reimu.

After breathing in the dark cloud, his power triples, reaching that of Ail's own power.

He clenches both fists and large white blades sprout from all around his body.

He starts chuckling lightly and slowly progresses to a mad cackle, then starts shouting "die, die, DIE, DIE~!!" and unleashing all the blades continuously, as if they were danmaku.

The blades pierce through Ail's barrier, so Ail instantly uses his own body to protect Sanae, but to their luck, doing this causes both to fall on the ground, avoiding the blades completely.

Ail and Sanae open their eyes, blush bright red, then Ail asks "a-are you ok?"

Sanae silently nods, then Ail says "we get one shot. Use the stars, I'll enhance them."

Again, Sanae nods quietly, then nods along Ail as he says "ok, 1, 2... 3!!!"

Ail rolls to his back and immediately Sanae summons small bright stars above herself, and Ail gives them more energy, turning them into large spiky stars that head straight to S-Ail.

The shadow grunts as he covers his face with his forearms.

The stars strike him hard, all exploding into small sharp icicle-like thorns and stabbing him all around his body.

S-Ail breathes heavily, trying to ignore the pain coursing through every inch of his body.

His attack finally stops as he falls on his knees, then he glares at Sanae one last time and says "I'll make you PAY someday!" and like a blur, he runs away, using the trees to hide his position.

Sanae shouts "after him!" but realizes Ail's face is covered in blood.

One of the shadow's blades cut Ail's forehead, but even bleeding like that, he smiles at her and says "heh, cancel that... heh heh. This little cut... hurts like there's no tomorrow."

Sanae gasps and springs to her feet, rushes to him and asks "Ail... when did this happen?"

She brushes her fingers around the cut, then Ail twitches and says "be-better not. Let's just go back"

From the violet yin-yang, Aya adds "come straight back, and don't bother with Eirin. She's not at the clinic."

Ail and Sanae stare at the yin-yang orb, then at each other.

Ail sits back up and says "better head back to the shrine, then."

-

It's late noon at Byakuren's temple.

Byakuren, Minamitsu, Shou and Nazrin return from the village after buying supplies for the temple.

Nue and Ichirin run toward them from the temple with a smile on their faces, Ichirin calling "onee-sama~! Welcome back~!"

Byakuren smiles and waves, then she feels a tremor coming from the Youkai Forest.

Her smile vanishes and is replaced by surprise and uncontrollable tears.

She drops on her knees and starts praying on the ground while Ichirin shrieks and along Nue, runs as fast as she can to her.

Shou says "i-it's ok. Lady Hijiri is fine. *pant*" Nazrin asks "what happened? Shou, you look so pale! What's the matter?"

Gasping for air, Shou replies "something terrible has happened. It's as if... both love... and hate... have been merged into one single soul."

While holding her hands in prayer, Byakuren adds "and this soul is in great pain; it's seeking revenge... It's lust for blood is overwhelming."

Everyone stays quiet for a while, then Byakuren opens her eyes, and spots Eirin in front of her, pointing her arrow straight at her.

The firsts to get in front are Minamitsu and Shou, then Ichirin and Nue grab Eirin from behind.

Eirin shouts "wait, no... you don't understand!"

Nazrin shouts "Lady Hijiri, behind you!"

Before Byakuren can even look behind her, the Random Sukima pops into the scene and gobbles Byakuren, immediately saying "MMM~~"

Byakuren tries to kick it's teeth open, but it quickly swallows her.

Eirin shouts "let me GO!" and unleashes a wave of energy that knocks everyone down to the ground, then she points her arrow and unleashes a massive barrage of bullets and beams straight at the Sukima, harming it heavily as each and every shot impact and explodes with great force.

As she continues her assault, she glares dangerously angry toward the Sukima and in a dark undertone, she asks "what did you do to Udonge!?"

The Sukima whines in pain, it's usual mischievous smile is now replaced by a tired-looking frown.

Eirin points her arrow once more, but the Random Sukima gasps, then disappears as quickly as it can.

Eirin looks at the ones that stopped her from achieving her goal.

All stare back at her, wanting to apologize, but Eirin turns around, and walks away, saying "take care."

Shou asks "wait, what about lady Hijiri!?"

Eirin turns around, her eyes a little glassy as she holds back her tears and says "I haven't been able to find Udonge anywhere. Tell me, have you seen her? No? Pity."

She turns around again and walks away, saying "look for your lady, but don't trust hope. Maybe with some LUCK, you may be able to find her." then continues her way.

After Eirin leaves, Ichirin places her hand on Shou's shoulder, while Nue, Minamitsu, and Nazrin just stare at her.

She sighs, feeling defeated, and says "I'll get right on it."

-

Above the lake behind the Hakurei Shrine, Byakuren falls unconscious out of a gap, covered in drool and cuts all over her, falling straight to the lake, making a loud splash.

Some bubbles rise to the surface of the water, shortly followed by Byakuren, who rises from the water, desperately gasping for air.

She looks around, feeling disoriented and quite confused, then asks herself "whe-where am I? What happened? Why am I in a lake? Who am I talking to?"

From behind her, an elderly voice says "well hi~!"

Byakuren turns around with a smile on her face and replies "hello."

When she sees an old turtle with a white beard staring back at her, she gets a little surprised, then she says "oh my... I though I heard someone."

The turtle replies "that would be me."

Byakuren gets a little surprised once more, then bows apologetically, but before she apologizes, the turtle says "I am Genjii, and you happen to be behind the Hakurei Shrine. Don't know what happened before, but you fell from the sky just now, and you are quite lucky to have fallen in this lake. You were unconscious. And I guess... you are talking to me, young lady."

Byakuren stares at him for a moment, then bows and says "well, thank you very much, mister Genjii. Could you point me to the shrine. I'm afraid I'm a little disoriented right now."

Genjii uses his eyes to signal Byakuren behind her, and that's when she notices the two girls playing in the water near the shore.

Byakuren exclaims "oh, Medicine and Luna. What luck!"

Genjii asks "want me to take you to them? Looks to me like those cuts hurt."

Byakuren sweats and says "if it's not too much trouble, mister Genjii."

The old turtle smiles, then goes underwater.

After a few seconds, Byakuren is startled by Genjii, who slowly rises back to the surface with her on his shell.

She chuckles as she gets closer to Medicine and Luna, who spot her immediately and start waving at her.

Once close to dry land, Byakuren jumps off the turtle's shell, turns around, kneels, grabs his head, and gives him a kiss on his cheek, making him blush and then says "thank you for helping me, mister Genjii."

Genjii chuckles and says "anytime, miss."

As he goes back underwater, Medicine and Luna greet Byakuren, then Medicine asks "what are you doing here? *gasp* And what happened to you face!? That cut!"

Luna adds "let's take you to the shrine!"

Before she can even answer, Byakuren finds herself being dragged by Luna to the Hakurei Shrine, where Ail is having a wound treated by Sanae and Reimu, Aya and Rika, all sit inside the shrine with small plates next to each, and 3 rice balls on each plate.

Rika gets up and says "oh my, more guests. I'll get some more rice balls."

Reimu sighs and says "we're gonna have to buy more rice tomorrow."

-

After Ail is treated, now having a big bandage on his forehead, all the plates empty, and Byakuren feeling refreshed again, Reimu clears her throat loudly getting everyone's attention.

She looks around, staring at everyone present, then says "alright, as you all know, we've got shadows of ourselves running around freely in Gensokyo. It IS clear they have ill-intent, but their goals remain unknown."

Byakuren turns to Ail and Sanae and says "and don't forget these shadows still have a heart. You two made it clear with that story. Mister Ail, you should NOT have let something like that happen, I am very disappointed in you."

Ail sighs and turns to face his knees.

Sanae pats him on the head, then turns to Byakuren and says "don't blame him! I'm the one that lost control of that spell!"

Byakuren stares angrily for a while, then sighs and says "accidents can happen. Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

Reimu stares at Sanae and says "we already had this chat. There's no need for repeats. Now, about these shadows. We HAVE to work in teams. Aya and I will deal with Momiji's shadow. Ail, Sanae, you two take a break. You've been through enough."

Ail and Sanae think of complaining, but look at each other, then back at Reimu, then nod. Aya adds "but Reimu WILL TAKE A BREAK in order to recover first, right?"

Reimu rubs her forehead with her index finger and thumb and sweating, she sighs and says "yeah, yeah..."

She lifts her head and asks "Byakuren, who's going to be your partner?"

Byakuren looks outside as soon as she hears Minamitsu calling for her.

She giggles and excitedly says "Minamitsu~~!"

Minamitsu smiles and excitedly enters the shine, giving Byakuren a big hug and letting some tears fall as she says "Lady Hijiri~, I found you!"

Reimu says "alright then, what team name will you choose?"

Minamitsu looks confused at Reimu and asks "team name?"

Byakuren excitedly shouts "ooh, I got one! Magical Captain! What do you think?"

Reimu writes the name down in a piece of paper, slowly repeating the name as she writes, then Minamitsu asks "what's going on?"

Byakuren smiles angelically and says "you and I are hunting my shadow!"

Minamitsu looks quite confused, but seeing her lady smile like that makes her smile as well.

She grabs her hishaku and raises it above her head, then shouts "I won't let you down, lady Hijiri!" then accidentally sets off a shower of danmaku that strikes everyone but Byakuren and herself.

She looks around, noticing everyone knocked to the ground, hides the hishaku, chuckles nervously and says "whoops, heh heh, sorry." while Byakuren stares angrily at her.

A few minutes later, Orin barges inside the shrine with Satori still on her back, screaming "out of my way, out of my way! Master corpse Collector, collecting corpses and lost Okuus is here!"

Satori strikes Orin on the head with her fist, making her stop and rub the bump on her head.

Once safely on the ground, Satori looks to Reimu and says "miss Reimu, we need your help. A mouth came out of nowhere and ate my Okuu, and now I can't find her!"

Reimu gasps in horror and says "WHAT!? That means we have shadow Okuu to worry about as well! Damn, I was hoping that thing was done eating others!"

Satori stares at Reimu for a while, then says "I see... Then this is much worse than I thought. Reimu, let me and Orin take care of her shadow, but please, help us find Okuu."

Luna says "ooh, Reimu, let me and Medicine do this one!"

Reimu stares at her and smiles, then says "you have your own little battle with Kyo right now, am I right?"

Luna blushes so much, her face looks as though it's going to pop from her head after Reimu says this.

Reimu then adds "you deal with your problem first..." then smiles and continues saying "don't worry about us. You just think about your future."

Luna looks down, then Medicine asks "er... am I missing something here?"

-

Again, everyone inside is back on their knees, listening to Reimu as she says "alright then, Magical Captain, you find and deal with Byakuren's shadow. Master Corpse Collector, you deal with Okuu's shadow, and I'll send word to be on the lookout for the real Okuu. Energy Gusts, you take a break for now, and me and Aya-"

Aya shouts "RED FLASH, WHOO~!!"

Reimu glares at Aya for a moment, then continues "*sigh* Red Flash will take care of Momiji's shadow. It's that clear?"

Everyone in the room shouts "YES MA'AM!"

Reimu grabs a large violet yin-yang orb that displays a large screen, then says "Marisa, can you hear me...? Marisa!?"

Marisa looks back and says "really sneaky of you, Reimu. Since when did you slip this into my pocket?"

Reimu sweats and says "never mind. Look, I need your help. Seems Okuu got bitten by the Random Sukima. I want you to... who's that?"

On the screen, Yuki's eye covers the entire screen while saying "ooh, what's this. How is it even talking?"

Reimu sweats and says "I see you got Yuki there with you. Excellent, your team will be Blazing Black and White. Nice, don't you think?"

Yuki shouts "WOW, this ball is so AWESOME! Blazing Black and White will ROCK THIS WORLD!"

Marisa grumbles "argh, Reimu, I almost had her LEAVE! Why'd you do that for!?"

Reimu says "sorry, but with so many shadows out there, you're going to have to work together... like good black and white sisters."

Marisa angrily grabs the yin-yang and shakes it with her hands while shouting "that's TOTALLY unfair. Reimu, I demand you pair me up with you this instant!"

Reimu says "Sorry, Aya's my partner."

Marisa whines then says "fine... So we go look for Okuu and that's it, right?"

Reimu says "not exactly. While you search, please check on Yuka. Aya's reports worry me, so please do this little favor for me."

Marisa sighs and nods, then replies "fine... We'll get on it!"

Yuki adds "Blazing Black & White OUT!" then smacks the yin-yang orb, shutting it off by force after it crashes on Marisa's mess-mountain.

Reimu sighs and says "for now, let's get some sleep, and tomorrow, we begin the hunt, alright?"

Everyone shouts "ma'am, yes ma'am!"

Reimu sweats and says "please, Rika, don't join them."

Rika giggles and says "but it looks like so much fun."

From the doorway, holding herself up by will-power, Mima weakly enters the shrine with the charm still stuck on her forehead, her eyes spinning, her mouth open and drooling.

She takes a breath of air and says "please... ple~~ase, someone take this thing off! *gasp* Please!"

Everyone stares at her with sweat-drops on their heads, then Rika says "oh, that's right. I forgot to take that off. Whoopsies."

Reimu stares at her, then places her hand on her forehead as she looks to the table in front of her and says "she's already adapted too well."

-

At midnight, a heavy storm with strong winds and constant lightning and thunder hits Gensokyo.

Momiji stands on a stone while facing off with her shadow self, who stares back at her with a wicked smile on her face.

S-Momiji asks " are you sure you want to die so soon, little dogie?"

Momiji grabs her shield and unsheathes her sword.

Lightning and thunder strike hard, illuminating Momiji's face under the heavy rain, as she glares straight at her shadow with determination and unyielding purpose in her eyes.

S-Momiji says "very well then, little pup. I'll make sure to make you suffer long before you die~!"

The skies turn red and black as scarlet clouds fly above the battlefield; thunder, lighting and swords clashing violently, echoing all through the night sky.

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Luna, Budou and Phredia were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

NOV 13 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N: PHEW! This chapter took me a while to finish. That shadow battle made me feel a little depressed. It was so sad to write that, but if I want the story to develop as I want, it had to happen. Here's a little something extra for a little bit of fun. Hope you enjoy.**

**

* * *

**Random Sukima Interveiw

Interviewer: Willie G.R.

Translator: Yukari Yakumo

WGR: So, mister, err... Random Sukima, is it? Good evening!

RS: *#&!)MDWU#$

YY: He says "good evening mister G.R., is it?"

WGR: I see. Well, seems you've cause some trouble out there in Gensokyo. Do you feel guilty about this?

RS: HW#)$&^!$J $(!$%GGSMW #%)!MEq

YY: "Not at all. All I did was live as I always have. Taste the world and don't look back!"

WGR: I see. Well, you certainly tasted quite a few of the cast... Tell me, can you identify their tastes?

RS: $$NY(#T(%J%)KY ($#*$TV $*$THW)!# G*!!!

YY: "With pleasure. Just ask away!"

WGR: Ok then, can you tell me what Reimu tastes like?

RS: **#$ ( HDQ*$$)^%&#VV!

YY: Ohh, I think I'll taster her too. Oh right, she says "she tastes like chocolate & caramel ice cream"

WGR: I see. Well, what about Agava?

RS: *$!$JNFW*$* *$%$BF BLECH!!

YY: "She tastes like crunchy chicken wings. I hate that taste. BLECH!"

-

WGR: Sadly, before we could continue with the interview, we got hungry and decided to go eat something. Please join us next time, as we continue the delicious... um, I mean, the interview with mister Random Sukima. See you next time.


	13. Chapter 12

It's late night at the Moriya shrine.

Kanako has managed to fix the entire shrine on her own, but she's so exhausted, she can't get up from the floor to turn on even one light, and even her Onbashira looks worn out in the darkness.

Suwako and Budou arrive to the dark shrine carrying bags with vegetable and fruits in them.

Budou squeezes Suwako's hand, shivering as they get closer to the dark shrine.

Suwako sweats and thinks "wonder if that old hag fell on the ground and can't get up...?"

She smiles and turns to Budou, then says "don't worry, I'll turn on some candles."

Budou looks to the ground, then Phredia comes out from under Budou's hair, using her natural light to brighten the place up, helping Suwako find a candle and some old matches that help brighten the living room a little more.

Suwako sets the candle on the table and the bags under it, then flies to turn on all the lanterns she can, brightening up the room.

Budou still looks a bit unsettled, even though Phredia continues to gently pet her cheek to calm her down.

Suwako smiles as she floats down to Budou, grabs some grapes from inside one of the bags, then says "eat up. You'll feel better."

Budou grabs one grape, eats it, smiles, then grabs a few more, cheering up and smiling as she contently eats her grapes, constantly saying "mmm~ so yummy".

Suwako ventures deeper into the shrine, searching through Sanae's room first, then upon closing the door, she shouts "oy~, Kanako~! Where are you!? And why is everything so dark?"

Suwako continues to walk through the small corridor, heading to the bathroom, when she feels her feet bump against something soft, plump and heavy.

She looks down and finds Kanako, lying on the ground, her eyes open, yet staring blankly at the ceiling, and a small hammer next to her hand.

Suwako stares at her in disbelief and asks "you threw off your back there, gramma?"

Like a miracle, Kanako spring to her feet, fire rising along her body as she clenches jagged teeth and stares angrily at Suwako, shouting "who are you calling old, you slimy toad!"

Calmly, Suwako replies "calm down. Budou's in the living room! She has a surprise for you."

Kanako sits on the living room, wearing a white heating pad on her back, enjoying some soup made by Suwako, eating with a smile on her face.

Budou stares at Kanako for a moment, smiles at her, then shouts "you were right, big sis. The heating pad made gramma Kanako very happy!"

Kanako continues to smile at Budou, however, a small vein starts pulsating on her forehead, showing her annoyance to the commentary.

Kanako manages to calm herself down, then asks "so that gap youkai helped you get a battery powered heating pad? That's unusual."

From the kitchen, Suwako replies "I was quite surprised too. She even got me the batteries for it."

As Suwako returns from the kitchen, she rummages around her pocket and pulls out three small batteries and says "See?"

Kanako stares at the batteries with her chop-sticks in her mouth. Suwako stares for a moment, then starts sweating.

Kanako asks "if the batteries are there... how is this thing-?"

Kanako grabs the pad and stares at it. Budou giggles and says "energy-sharing tickles!" then starts giggling some more.

Kanako pulls the pad father from Budou, and she stops giggling.

She gets it closer again and Budou starts to giggle uncontrollably.

She pulls it back again, then says "oy, Suwako."

Suwako, her eyes cast in a blue shadow, replies "yes... I can see it."

The moment is cut short when a sudden thunder strike, accompanied by lighting and rain, startles Budou, making her cry and cling to her gramma Kanako, shaking with fear.

Phredia hugs the back of Budou's neck and gives her a kiss, then Suwako looks outside and says "s-scarlet clouds."

Another lightning bolt strikes in front of the shrine doors just as Suwako reaches to close them.

Suwako readies herself for a possible fight, seeing a silhouette inside the bolt.

Iku Nagae now stands in clear view, opens her eyes, then says "a terrible fate is to fall upon the green-haired one. Protect her from the boy at all costs! That is all."

With that, she twirls in place, raises her right hand index finger to the sky while holding her hip with her left hand and shouts "Saturday Night--- FEVER~!" then lightning strikes again, Iku disappearing with it.

Suwako and Kanako stare at each other, then Suwako says "but it's Wednesday."

Kanako continues to brush Budou's hair to keep her calm as she continues to stare at the scarlet clouds in the sky.

-

Morning at the Hakurei Shrine.

Reimu wakes up and finds everyone, but Aya and Rika, have already left.

Rika comes from outside with a wooden japanese sword and sweating a bit, but still smiling angelically.

She looks at Reimu, bows and says "good morning, lady Reimu."

Reimu smiles back and says "good morning Rika. Been training I see? Er... where did you get that sword from?"

Rika giggles and says "from my Saboten Stock."

Reimu stares back at her with both confusion and curiosity.

Rika giggle, rummages through her pockets, then pulls out a small square box, places the wooden sword next to it and it shrinks as it gets absorbed into the box, then says "this is a Saboten Stock. I can store many of my things and save a lot of space! Pretty handy, don't you think?"

Reimu stares at her and says "you have to teach me how to use that spell!"

Rika chuckles and says "err... why don't I just-?"

Aya, who has been quietly sitting on the porch all this time, suddenly gasps and shouts "Reimu, have you seen Momiji around!?"

Reimu looks back to Aya a little worried and says "I haven't seen her at all, after you punished her."

Aya gulps loudly and says "err... we should go find her when you're done eating."

Reimu sighs and says "fine. Remember, we have to find her shadow too."

Aya sighs and says "yes, I know. Sorry about that, Reimu. I just got this bad feeling all of a sudden."

Reimu looks seriously at Aya and says "yeah, I've got a very bad feeling too. Maybe we should head out now, and come back to eat la-."

From the kitchen, in a strict tone, Rika says "oh no, you don't, lady Reimu! I'll get you breakfast and you eat it before you leave! You need all the strength you can get, after all!"

Aya and Reimu stare at each other, then Aya says "better listen to her."

Reimu grumbles and flicks her arms beside herself, feeling defeated.

She heads to the table and sits there, then says "as soon as I'm done..."

Aya finishes for her "...we hunt that shadow and find the real Momiji."

-

At the Moriya Shrine, Ail carries Budou with him into one of his gaps, turns around and waves at Sanae, who stands next to Kanako and Suwako.

Kanako holds her mirror in her hand and points it at Ail again, but hides it before he notices her.

Sanae says "you rest and make sure to treat that wound properly, or I'll get mad."

Ail sweats and manages to chuckle, sounding a bit nervous, but before he can reply, Budou says "don't worry, mama. I'll make sure he does!"

Phredia pops her head from under Budou's head, nods, then pops back in.

Ail sweats and shrugs, then the gap closes.

As soon as it does, Sanae sighs and says "I better start sweeping... this shrine looks like a mess, lady Yasaka. I though you'd take care of it."

Sanae turns to face Kanako, who nervously replies "I, err... got a bit tied up."

Sanae sighs again, then goes to get her broom to start sweeping around.

Suwako gets closer to Kanako, who takes this time to look into her mirror.

Both see when Ail and Sanae fell to the ground during their battle with the shadows, Kanako getting annoyed at the sight.

Then they watch as Sanae treats his wound, and as they both share rice balls, feeding each other.

Kanako whispers "and right in front of everyone, just like that!"

Suwako looks casual as she stares into the mirror, then says to Kanako "look, Kanako, he's not doing any of that on purpose. Just watch. I really believe he thinks they're just really good friends."

Kanako gets angry and whispers in an aggravated tone of voice "Suwako, don't fall for his tricks! He's just playing dumb. Besides, you heard what that dragon said. We better keep our eyes open."

Suwako sighs and says "you're taking it way too literal! You know those dragons love speaking in riddles."

Kanako puffs her cheeks, places her mirror back on her chest, then says "look, you may be naive, but I'm not! That boy is dangerous for our Sanae. I just have to figure out a way to make her see..."

Kanako and Suwako watch as Sanae sweeps the courtyard, humming tunes to herself with a very happy expression on her face.

Kanako turns her sights to were Ail's gap was just moments ago and growls softly, thinking "you may have everyone fooled, Ail, but not me. Just you wait. I'll get you. I'll get you."

A large golden washtub falls on Kanako's head, making a very loud clanging sound, then falls on the ground next to her.

Suwako recovers from the sudden shock as Sanae rushes to Kanako, shouting "lady Yasaka, are you alright!? Lady Yasaka!"

Kanako continues to stare toward the same spot, unmoving and unblinking.

Suwako asks "Kanako...? Can you hear me?"

Suwako waves her hand in front of her eyes, and just as Sanae get close, she turns to her and says "she's out cold."

Sanae looks up to the sky, then back at the large washtub on the ground, then shouts "what the deal with all these washtubs!?"

-

At Ail's house, Budou and Phredia play around the ceiling, twirling around each other, missing ornaments, walls and the ceiling itself by inches.

Ail comes from the small corridor that leads to his room, looks up at them and strictly says "oy, Budou, Phredia. Be careful, or you're gonna get hurt... why don't you play outside?"

Budou flaps her wings to hover in place and looks at Ail, an sounding a little disappointed, she says "we can't. There's a stranger out there."

Ail asks "a stranger?"

For a moment, Ail's thoughts turn to his shadow and his promise to make them pay.

He signals Budou to get close to him, and as she hovers down, he whispers to her "stay inside while I got look around. If anything happens, I want you and Phredia to go to the Hakurei, or the Moriya Shrine, got it?"

Budou nods, then hides behind the sofa as Ail heads to the front door and goes outside.

He closes the door while scanning around, looking for any signs of his shadow.

He's caught by surprise, as Reisen jumps on him and gives him a hug, rubbing her cheek on his chest and saying in a dreamy tone "Ail~! You are alive. I am so relieved."

Ail's face turns a bit blue, thinking for a moment that he is dead, but when he realizes it's Reisen, he grabs her shoulders and pulls her away, but she forces herself to a hug again, continuing to rub her cheek on his chest, smiling and sighing contently.

A bit more annoyed, Ail grabs her shoulders again and forcefully pulls her away, then says "Reisen, where have you been? Eirin has been looking all over for you!"

Reisen's face twists into a most disturbing frown, but returns to normal when Ail blinks his eyes.

He palces her back down and asks "are you ok?"

Reisen squeals and says "you're so~ considerate! Don't yo worry about me, I am just FINE as ever!"

Ail sweats and scratches his head as he looks at Reisen with narrow eyes, saying "ok... if you say so."

He restores his face to look neutral and says "look, you better head home. Eirin is so worried about you."

Reisen continues to smile, but her tone of voice sounds dangerous when she says "she is, isn't she? I better be heading home then. Please take care, and don't you DARE get another wound on that prefect face of yours. See you around!"

Before Ail answers back, Reisen skips away, glaring dangerously as the sky with a smile on her face.

Ail thinks for a moment and says to himself "that's odd... she's acting so strange... and her hair... there's something about that..."

Before he can figure it out, his bracelet does the old and familiar droplet sound, taking his attention away from Reisen.

-

Meanwhile, at the Hakurei Shrine, Aya and Reimu leave in a hurry, Reimu shouting back at Rika "please take care of the place while I'm gone~!"

Rika shouts back "will do my lady~!"

After they are gone, Rika looks around the shrine and thinks "well, I already swept the grounds... I cleaned the hot springs, dusted inside, checked the roof..."

She looks to the back of the shrine, picks her Saboten Stock from her pocket and pushes a button that releases her wooden sword straight to her hand, then says "I guess I'll train for a bit, then." and walks to the back of the shrine resting the sword on her shoulder.

At the same time, in Makai.

Shinki, Mai, Alice and Yumeko enter through the gate, Yumeko saying in a concerned voice "we could have gotten here sooner, but my lady wanted to visit those red clouds before."

Shinki looks around and immediately gasps in horror while covering her mouth, shouting "the-the forest!!!"

The small forest Ail helped revive is on fire, a few of the trees already consumed.

Shinki desperately shouts "turn off the fire! Yumeko, Alice, Mai, help me turn off the fire!!!"

Immediately, Shinki starts flying around as fast as she can, generating gusts of wind behind her and flying as close to the trees as possible.

Alice shouts "Shanghai, Hourai..!" she unleashes 8 more dolls that start scraping the ground and sending dirt toward the trees, then finishes saying "sprinkle as much dirt as you can on the trees, but keep away from the fire!"

The two little dolls salute Alice, and Shanghai says "on it, miss Alice!"

Yumeko rushes as fast as she can, cutting small branches with her short swords, managing to spare larger portions of the trees from getting burned.

Mai flies above the forest and shouts "Yumeko, Alice, give me some room!" then pulls out a light-blue spell card from her pocket and shouts "Ice Sign - Frozen Sakura for Spectators!"

Below, Alice, Shanghai, Hourai and Yumeko rush away from the forest as Mai unleashes her spell.

Around herself, Mai unleashes 12 groups of ice danmaku that bloom like cherry blossoms, then spread as they fall down like petals.

While the petals drop slowly, Mai unleashes a snowstorm of snowflake danmaku she sends toward the fire.

The combination of the ice petals, the snowstorm and the snowflakes subdues the fire, saving the entire forest.

She smirks and says "say, these spell card things aren't so bad, lady Yumeko..."

Mai looks around when Yumeko doesn't respond, then Shinki flies to her, and sounding a bit worried, she says "uhh, Mai... there."

Mai looks to where Shinki is pointing at, and finds Yumeko frozen solid inside a block of ice, clenching her teeth, opening her eyes wide, and hugging herself.

Mai gulps and says "umm... I guess I need more practice... heh heh."

Alice looks up to them and shouts "could you give me a hand here!?"

Shanghai and Hourai start clapping, and Alice scolds them, saying "that's not funny, you two!"

Mai and Shinki sigh, then slowly descend to help.

-

Walking by near the shores of the Misty Lake, Youmu and Yuyuko head to the direction of the Human Village.

Youmu keeps holding the hilt of her sword, looking around suspiciously, then desperately says "Yuyuko-sama, please walk faster! Remember, we are in danger here!"

With a whimsical smile, Yuyuko replies "Youmu, you need to take things a little slower sometimes, or you might miss a great deal of things, like that beautiful pink flower, growing next to that tall tree."

Yuyuko points to her left, then Youmu, looking quite annoyed and unamused, says "let's just get this over with!"

Youmu looks to the sky as Reimu and Aya fly by so fast, they look like a blur, although to Youmu's eyes, they look quite normal.

Youmu asks "oh, where do you think those two are headed in such a hurry?"

Yuyuko giggles and says "oh, that tickles!"

Youmu turns around, asking "tickles? What are you talking ab- WHOA!!! Yuyuko-sama!"

Youmu's eyes almost spring right out of her head after witnessing the Random Sukima, chewing on Yuyuko like a piece of bubble-gum.

Youmu unsheathes her sword and is just about to strike, but from inside the mouth, Yuyuko says "ah-ah-ah, Youmu, don't be too hasty!"

Youmu shouts back "but it's eating you UP!"

The Sukima starts blowing Yuyuko like a piece of gum, and while expanding like a balloon, Yuyuko giggles and excitedly says "oh~ this is fun. It's like getting an expensive massage. Youmu, you should try this!"

Sweating, Youmu smacks her own forehead, sighing and then replying "no, thank you. Now, let me get you out of-"

Yuyuko explodes, whimsically shouting "weeeeee" then the Sukima chews on her once more, then swallows her up.

Youmu shouts "YUYUKO-SAMA~! What did you do to her!?"

Youmu raises her sword, looking enraged and ready to cut the Sukima in half, but it starts whining like a wounded animal, then falls to the ground.

Youmu looks on quite surprised and gets closer to inspect the mouth, but it springs up from the ground, quickly expands, then explodes very violently, sending Youmu to the village, where she lands right on top of Kyo's roof, breaking it on impact and dropping to the living room floor on her face.

Yuyuko sits between Kyo and Luna on the couch and while smiling, she says "ah, there she is. Youmu, that was quite rude. I though you'd never get here."

Youmu doesn't get up and just strikes herself on the back of her head with her fist.

Kyo grumbles as he gets up from the couch and helps Youmu up, then says "don't think about it too much. Are you ok, though?"

Youmu says "yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about your roof. This mouth that ate Yuyuko suddenly exploded and sent me flying all the way here."

Kyo gasps along with Luna while letting go of Youmu, then asks "you mean... that mouth thing is gone?"

Youmu asks "yeah? Was that the Random Sukima everyone was talking about?"

Luna and Kyo stare at each other for a while, then Yuyuko says "we should celebrate. Youmu, let's prepare a party!"

Youmu sighs and says to herself "I'm supposed to be a gardener... a gardener!"

-

Meanwhile, back at Makai.

Shinki somehow manages to thaw Yumeko out of the large cube of ice.

Yumeko shivers as they continue to walk out the forest they just saved and Mai continues to apologize, while Alice walks beside Shinki, smiling and saying "I should really come over here more often."

Shinki replies "now, now, you have your own life to live... Let us do the visiting."

Alice smiles mischievously and says "I see. you like it over there, don't you?"

Shinki blushes, but does not reply.

They finally reach the end of the forest, and immediately after exit, they are met by a surprise attack.

A giant fireball that threatens to burn the entire forest again.

Shinki gets in front of Alice, then bounces the fireball back to the skies as if it were nothing.

In front of them, a wicked womanly voice says "so, it was you. You've got a lot of nerve interfering with my plans, you old hag!"

Shinki scowl toward the source of the voice, while the rest look awestruck.

Wearing a red dress with a white belt that has a gold buckle, golden bracelets and jeweled necklaces, diamond earrings, and wearing ruby-red lipstick, is Yuki.

In a demanding tone, Shinki asks "where is my Yuki, you fake!"

Yumeko, Mai and Alice stare back at Shinki as Yumeko asks "you meant that's not Yuki?"

Shinki replies without taking her eyes off Shadow Yuki "she's a copy.... a shadow of OUR Yuki."

S-Yuki replies "well, the old bag still has something left in her."

Yumeko shouts back "you watch your tongue, you creep!"

S-Yuki does not reply, then snaps her fingers.

Shortly after, a black haired Shinki walks to 's side and excitedly says "look, look, I can make blue circles in the air. Watch!"

She points her finger and makes a perfect little blue circle in the air, then looks excitedly back to S-Yuki, who scoffs and says "cut the crap. It's the impostors I told you about! They are here!"

S-Shinki looks on with an innocent face, and after adjusting her eyes a little, she growls and says "impostors... I don't like impostors. I have to KILL them!"

Just like that, she swings her arm toward Shinki, unleashing a blue lance that trails on the ground, splitting it in two as it treads straight to Shinki, who grabs the light with her bare hands and sends it back.

S-Yuki fires another massive fireball back at the lance, canceling it out, then says "twerp! Change of plans! Get back to the palace and we'll get them there!"

S-Shinki giggles and says "YAY~! Ambush, ambush! Oh, I'll get some friends to help!"

S-Yuki snickers and says "good girl. Go get things ready. I'll be there soon."

S-Shinki smiles, nods and giggles, then starts skipping on the ground and floating in the air, expanding her arms and making whooshing sounds with her mouth.

S-Yuki smirks wickedly at Shinki and Alice, then says "we'll be waiting for you, girlies. But don't make us wait too long."

S-Yuki hovers in the air, but Yumeko shouts "you're not going anywhere!" and fires 5 short swords straight at the shadow.

S-Yuki smiles and takes off one of her many golden bracelets and says "these aren't just for show, old maid!"

She tosses the bracelet in front of herself, then it starts spinning around her body really fast, and breaks all of Yumeko's swords with ease.

The bracelet vanishes after it's job is done, but still, S-Yuki smiles and cackles as she leaves toward Pandemonium.

In a strict tone, Shinki says "I'm taking care of this right now. You girls stay here."

Yumeko says "but, lady Shinki!"

A light blue dome surrounds Mai, Alice and Yumeko, then Shinki repeats "stay here!" then quickly flies away.

Yumeko bangs on the dome with her fists, shouting "my lady, no! Let us help!"

Alice shouts "mom! We can help you! Mom!!"

Mai sighs, then sits on the ground, and sounding casual, she says "calm down."

Yumeko stares back angrily, then Mai says "just calm down and let's think of a way to get out of here."

Yumeko and Alice stare at each other, then sit on the ground, feeling defeated.

Hourai and Shanghai stare at each other, but keep quiet.

-

Aya and Reimu arrive at one of the farthest edges of Gensokyo.

A rocky area with a small stream coursing through the many rocks on the ground.

Aya asks "why did you stop here?"

In a serious tone, Reimu replies "she's here."

Reimu points toward a large stone formation with some small trees growing on them.

From behind those trees comes S-Momiji with a triumphant smirk in her face, then says "well, well, if it isn't my superior and that worthless maiden. Come to share graves?"

Reimu places her arm in front of Aya as S-Momiji reaches behind her and pulls Momiji up, holding her by her neck, dried up blood across her face.

Aya opens her eyes wide and calls for Momiji, desperately hoping to get a reply.

Momiji manages to barely open her left eye and weakly says "m-miss.... Aya"

S-Momiji unsheathes her sword and strikes Momiji's head hard with it's blunt side while grumbling "stay dead, pup." then throws her on the ground next to herself, revealing the back of her shirt cut open and her back full of cuts and dried up blood.

Reimu holds Aya back, saying "Aya, calm down. If you try to take her on your own, she'll get you as well!"

Aya stops struggling against Reimu, then looks at her and says "but we have to save her, Reimu!"

Reimu looks Aya straight in the eyes and says "remember, we combine our powers, and we can win. Concentrate on that."

Aya nods, takes a deep breath to calm herself down, then glares toward S-Momiji, however, she's already gone.

Both Aya and Reimu look around, and in an instant, Reimu grabs Aya's shirt and pulls down hard, taking Aya down with her as S-Momiji swings her sword from behind, missing both by mere inches.

She runs away again, but gets caught by a trap charm Reimu had laid down behind them.

Aya takes this chance and kicks the shadow as hard as she can on her face, sending her flying back hard against an invisible wall that shocks her on contact.

Aya looks at Reimu with surprise, then Reimu says "she won't be escaping from us."

Aya and Reimu continue to watch as S-Momiji gets shocked by the barrier, then Aya gasps and says "Momiji!"

Reimu gasps as well, then quickly, both of them rush as fast as they can toward the real Momiji, but S-Momiji manages to free herself from the barrier and flies as fast as she can toward the tengu and the maiden, flying as high as she can, then dropping down with her sword's sharp edge downward at full force.

Reimu and Aya split up, avoiding being cut by the blade, then S-Momiji, looking aggravated, starts swinging wildly at them with all her might.

Aya and Reimu manage to dodge the out-of-control swings, then Reimu reaches for her charms inside her sleeve, but Aya quickly pushes Reimu away, just as the black sword is thrust toward her.

-

Reimu rubs her head while sitting on the ground and says "thanks, Aya."

Aya holds her left shoulder and clenches her teeth as some blood slowly drips from the sword wound.

Reimu quickly grabs her and takes her away from S-Momiji's reach, once again, avoiding a wild swing my inches.

Reimu manages to lift to the air whit Aya on her arms, as S-Momiji goes back to the real Momiji.

The shadow smiles as she brushes the wounds on Momiji's back while saying "she tried to stop me on her own to uphold her honor."

She sticks her finger nail deep into one of the dried-up wounds, making Momiji twitch and bleed again, then smiles at both Reimu and Aya, then says "I see. She's dear to you, isn't she?"

Reimu manages to land at a near-by rock, then lets go of Aya, who stands to her side, glaring straight at S-Momiji.

Reimu manages to keep her calm and asks "why are you doing this? Why do you want to kill us?"

S-Momiji laughs for a while, then stops laughing and says "you fool, you were just a job! You are too strong to be taking lightly, and those two payed me to help them kill you."

Reimu whispers to Aya, who sits on the air and closes her eyes as Reimu says "that is not what I asked you!"

S-Momiji smirks, then says "we came here to take your place in life, to evolve this world into a glorious sun-less future. A future for all shadows."

S-Momiji grabs her tokin, throws it to the air, then slashes it in half, then says "and when I take over the tengu, those stupid hats will be the first thing to go."

Reimu asks "so you're just parasites?"

S-Momiji frowns, her face turning bright red with rage, then shouts "we are the future! It is YOU who are the parasites!"

Aya suddenly shouts "Illusionary Dominance!!!"

The air around Aya turns red as she grabs Reimu and flies straight toward S-Momiji, tackling her to the air and continuing the assault, flying left and right non-stop, then she suddenly stops and flings Reimu straight toward the Shadow, then Reimu shouts "Divine Skill - Foot of the Wind God Champion!"

The air around Reimu's legs turns orange, and along the momentum gained from Aya, S-Momiji is defenseless and unable to dodge in time, receiving a kick to her abdomen that sends her flying hard to the ground, spitting black blood as she falls.

Her sword falls away, crossing over Reimu's barrier and shattering into pieces, then turns into a cloud of black dust.

S-Momiji gets to her feet, and immediately rushes away like a blur just as 5 multi-colored orbs strike hard right where she just was.

She heads straight to Momiji, grabs her by the neck and sinks her claws into the wolf tengu's neck, shouting "I will NOT die like this!"

Reimu stops from sending charms, and Aya stops her attack completely.

S-Momiji smiles triumphantly once more, then says "take down that barrier, and I promise no harm will come to her."

Reimu and Aya look at each other, then Reimu says "fine!!! Just leave her alone already!"

S-Momiji continues to smirk and says "good choice, ladies."

Reimu waves her gohei, taking down the invisible barrier.

S-Momiji stares with ill intent at Momiji and says "why the hell not? I'll release you from your pain, claim your life as my own, and then, little miss loner tengu can go back to her solitary life-style."

Aya gasps as S-Momiji smiles and says "yes, miss Aya, I know all about it. The closer this girl gets to dying, the more of her soul and memories I absorb, so I can successfully take over her life. Then, I'll achieve what she can only DREAM of ever achieving. I'll become the new leader of the tengu. Think about it, miss Aya. Instead of being friends with this lowly dog, you could be my right hand. You can MAKE the others like you, whether they want to or not. You'll never be alone again!"

-

Reimu stares at Aya and notices the desire in her eyes.

She shouts "Aya, don't you even think about it! I'm your friend. Momiji is your friend too! You told me yourself that you rather have a few real friends than hundreds of fake ones."

Aya continues to stare at S-Momiji with great desire.

Reimu feels desperate, and unleashes a barrage of charms toward Aya, hoping to stop her, but Aya stares back at Reimu for a second, so Reimu cancels her attack and starts to sob, kneeling on the ground, all her charms falling to the ground around her.

Aya slowly flies toward S-Momiji and slowly extends her arm, saying "never alone... again..."

S-Momiji smiles and extends her hand to Aya, but when she tries to grab it, her fingers go right through.

She feels a hard blow on the back of her head, making her release the real Momiji.

The blow is followed up a sharp wind sickles to the abdomen, a hard kick on the ribs, wind attacks that feel like sickles, another kick, another strike, one after the other, then Aya shouts "Gust - Sarutahiko's Guidance!"

Aya's legs get surrounded by a small hurricane that allows her to tackle the shadow hard against the ground, making her bounce violently against the stones of the ground, then Aya grabs her and shouts "Demon Beast - Sickle Weasel Veiling!" and surrounds herself in a thin shield made of wind blades that cut the shadow over and over, making her scream in agonizing pain.

The shield around Aya disappears, but Aya continues to hold the shadow in her hands and with fury in her eyes, she says "you hurt two very special friends. You can rot in hell!" then lets her fall to the ground where Reimu was before.

All the charms are still there, surrounding S-Momiji, as she struggles to keep conscious, trying to find a way to escape, but Reimu is already next to her, placing her gohei on one of the charms that turns out to be a spell card, then says "Divine Arts - Omnidirectional Demon Binding Circle"

A pillar of light activates right where S-Momiji is, making her scream echo far.

The spell finishes, and all that is left of S-Momiji is a thin black cloud that vanishes as the wind blows.

Reimu looks for Aya, who is already with Momiji, so she rushes to them.

Aya embraces Momiji for a moment, then looks to Reimu and sobbing, she asks "what do we do?"

Reimu sighs and says "she'll be alright. Here, let's first take care of those wounds."

A shadow blocks the light of the sun, and when Reimu and Aya look up, they gasp, then Eirin asks "you need some help?"

-

Meanwhile, at the Moriya Shrine.

Sanae finishes sweeping the courtyard, when in between the trees, she spots Suwako, hidden in shadows and staring back at her.

Sanae says "Lady Moriya, is that you?"

Suwako runs away, making some bushes rustle violently while Sanae tries to follow, calling "Lady Moriya, are you playing some game again? Look, I'm a little busy, so if you don't mind-"

Sanae feels as though she's been struck with a spiked mace on the left side of her face and finds herself spinning in the air before falling face-first to the ground.

She lightly touches her blood-covered cheek while trying to recover her bearings.

From her right, walking slowly to her, S-Ail, whose hand is covered in small white spikes, in a threatening undertone says "I will avenge my love with your blood. After that, I will go after my other self, and while he grieves your passing, I'll bleed him out for a slow and painful death."

Sanae readies her gohei and tries to unleash some gales at the shadow, but he kicks her as hard as he can on her ribs, making her scream in pain and roll against a near-by tree.

From under the skin on his forearm, a black and red blade springs up and accommodates itself neatly on his hand.

He raises the blade and says "now die a most shameful and unfitting death at the hands of someone WEAKER than you!"

A blue gap opens right in between the shadow and Sanae as he lunges the blade at her, then another gap opens just behind him, making him stab himself on the back with the blade, then quickly, Ail springs out of another gap and using his bare fists, he punches S-Ail's face with great force and fury, and each punch makes S-Ail see stars and feel as though his teeth will fall off at any time.

Ail continues his assault, every second that passes make shim feel more and more aggravated, and finally, he gives S-Ail such a powerful uppercut, S-Ail flies in the air for a few seconds before falling on his back.

Afterward, Ail surrounds his hands with a red barrier and uses all his will-power to turn it into a small dagger.

He grabs S-Ail by his hair and says "don't worry, you'll be joining your sweetheart soon!"

Ail back-flips and surrounds himself in a blue barrier, avoiding Kanako's logs, giving S-Ail the chance to run away.

Kanako hovers ominously above Ail, who continues to surround himself and now Sanae in his barrier.

Suwako comes from behind the trees and shouts "Kanako, what the hell are you doing!? It's the other one! Get the other-"

Suwako realizes S-Ail is gone, but Kanako continues to glare straight at Ail as he kneels down beside Sanae and helps her sit up.

Suwako flies up to Kanako and says "you old hag, you better get some glasses! You missed the culprit!"

Kanako says "the only culprit I see is right next to her, Moriya."

Suwako smiles as she gets in front of Kanako and places her hands on her shoulders.

While still smiling, she says "you fire that now, he's going to fire back. you understand that right?"

Kanako doesn't respond, then Suwako adds "and if by some unfortunate accident you hit Sanae, I'll rip you to shreds."

Kanako looks at Suwako, then says "right... sorry. I don't know what got into me. Let's go check on Sanae."

-

Earlier at the Human Village, Orin was barging into houses, calling for Okuu every time, and every time, Satori apologized to the house owners for her pet's behavior.

Satori had enough and punished Orin by pouring water on her, and punching her on the head.

Now, Satori and Orin explore the Garden of the Sun, looking for Okuu, or her shadow.

Orin runs happily around the many sunflowers, saying "ooh, isn't this pretty, miss Satori?"

Satori looks around, looking displeased and tired, then says "Orin, don't go too far ahead. You don't know what's hiding around here."

From behind, a shadow towers over Satori, who turns around to face Yuka, who is dressed in a blue plaid vest and skirt and white long-sleeved shirt.

Satori gets startled at the mean and angry expressions in the youkai's face, but she manages to compose herself and asks "excuse me, but we're looking... for..."

Satori backs away, then calls for Orin, who quickly comes and gets in between Satori and Yuka, then Satori shouts "she has Okuu!"

Orin says "alright, then, let's GET HER, then!"

-

At Marisa's house, Marisa and Yuki are playing cards when they are disturbed by loud calls and constant bangs from the door.

Marisa gets up, and as she walks to the door and sounding annoyed, she says "hold your horses, I'm coming!"

Upon opening the door, Marisa finds Satori, trembling at the doorway, hugging herself, covered in dirt and some bruises.

Orin is behind Satori, rolling on the ground, wearing more ribbons than usual on her braids and tails and looking quite discontent.

Marisa exclaims "WHOA! What happened to you, ze?"

Satori trembles as she says "w-w-w-we f-f-found O-O-Okuu! Sh-she's held ca-captive i-i-inside a house at th-the Sunflower F-F-F-Fields!"

Marisa gasps and asks "you tried fighting Yuka? Oh, you two are brave!"

Satori shakes her head and says "n-no. It was..."

Satori starts to cry and bawls "it was horrible~~! Waaahhhh~"

Satori hugs Marisa while crying, then Marisa thinks "wait a minute... From what Reimu told me, she could have come face to face whit Yuka's shadow. Oh, what did Reimu get me into now? Can I do this? Can I save that bird, AND beat that shadow?"

Yuki pops her head form inside the house and says "hey~, you're out of vegetables again!"

Marisa forces Satori off her, sending her to Orin, who catches her in the air and says "come on, miss Satori. Roll with me on the ground to shake off all that bad stuff!" then forces Satori to roll along with her on the dirt.

Satori tries to get away, shouting "Orin, let me.. go! Orin, no!" Argh!"

Marisa turns to Yuki and says "looks like we have work to do, Yuki!"

Yuki stares back at Marisa, raises her hand in the air, then shouts "BLAZING Black and White to the RESCUE~! Right?"

Marisa lowers her hat to hide her eyes and sighs, then says "right, right. Just... come on!"

Marisa gets on her broom, then flies away, while Yuki flies after her, cackling like a maniac and shouting "I'm gonna eat a pineapple sunflower for dessert, wahahahaha~!"

Marisa replies "please stop being so weird."

As they fly away, Satori continues to be forced to roll on the dirt in front of Marisa's house, shouting at Orin and demanding to be released.

Marisa sighs and says "now I see why Reimu gets annoyed with so many visits, ze."

-

At Makai, inside Shinki's dome, Shanghai and Hourai glow bright yellow as they both hold hands.

Alice desperately asks them "Shanghai, Hourai, what are you doing!? Stop that!!!"

Both dolls look back at Alice and say at the same time "after the dome shatters, take care of our bodies. We'll be back later, so don't cry miss Alice. Now, go help that nice lady, or we'll never forgive you!"

Alice gasps as the dolls glow brighter and brighter, then covers her eyes just as the light-blue colored dome shatters to pieces.

The two dolls fall lifeless and unmoving to the ground.

Alice holds back her tears of sadness as she picks them up, then turns to Yumeko and Mai and says "I'll go and help mom while you two go look for Sara, Luize and Yuki. We will need help."

Yumeko complains, saying "hey, who put you in charge!?"

Alice turns to Yumeko and says I am much more powerful than you can possibly imagine. I can at least buy mom some time."

Yumeko growls, then nods and says "but I swear, if you let anything happen to lady Shinki, I'll punish you until there's nothing of you left!"

Alice smiles as she nods, then says "please, hurry. Shan-..! that's right."

Alice pockets the two dolls, then looks toward Pandemonium, and without saying another word, she lifts off to the sky.

Mai says "I'll look for Yuki, if you don't mind."

Yumeko nods and in a strict tone, she says "don't take too long. I'll got look for Sara and Luize, then. We meet at the palace entrance when we're done, did I make myself clear?"

Mai smiles back, nods, then flies away back to Gensokyo.

Yumeko looks toward the palace, but turns around, then flies toward Luize's tour blimp, feeling great anxiety in her heart.

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Luna, Budou, Phredia and Mai's spell cards were created by Wilie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot 2010

Some assistance by Snapshot 2010

NOV 15 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N: Although I did finish this chapter on the 15th, I couldn't proofread and edit until the 16th. And now, here we have part 2 of our interview with The Random Sukima.

* * *

**

Random Sukima Interview part 2

Interviewer: Willie G.R.

Translator: Yukari Yakumo

WGR: Well, mister Sukima. Seems you got blown up when you ate that ghost. Tell me, did that hurt?"

RS: *($&$GHIQR )!#%*V GGGITWL#)^

YY: "It didn't hurt at all. All was made with special effects and some computer animations."

WGR: Oh, I see. Well, last time I asked you about how those you ate tasted like. Shall we continue there?"

RS: *$&#JG V)$^!

YY: "Sure. I'd be delighted."

WGR: Well, how did Flandre taste like?

RS: ()$#$%GHIRMT $(#^%# $)%%KKHL

YY: "Like mixing many candy bonbons in your mouth. I swear, I though I tasted pineapple."

WGR: I see. Well, how about Meiling? This one should be interesting.

RS: )(#$(^BB #* RHIR($

YY: "Actually, I was very surprised, as she tasted like a pair of dumplings. Although the second time, she tasted like three."

WGR: I see... wasn't expecting that. Well, that's all the time we have for today. Please join us next time as we continue our interview with the Random Sukima.


	14. Chapter 13

It's just past mid-day, and Reimu and Aya just arrive to the shrine, carrying Momiji on a wooden stretcher.

Upon the sight, Rika quickly puts her wooden sword away in her Saboten Stock, and immediately rushes Aya and her lady Reimu as they land as gently as they can, as to not disturb Momiji.

Rika bows and while taking many deep breaths of air, she says "welcome *pant* back *pant* lady *pant* Reimu."

Reimu smiles and places her index finger on her lips, signaling Rika to quiet down.

Rika looks at Momiji. Her torso is completely wrapped in bandages, along with her right elbow, the left ankle, both knees, and her forehead and right eye.

Rika gasps and whispers "what happened to her?"

As Reimu and Aya enter the shrine and gently set Momiji on the floor, Reimu whispers "don't worry. Eirin came just in time to help. She'll be fine by tomorrow."

Rika salutes and says "I'll prepare her a comfortable spot."

Reimu adds "in my room, next to the protective charms."

Rika nods and rushes inside Reimu's room.

Reimu turns to Aya, who smiles and she brushes Momiji's hair with her fingers and whispers "too bad we couldn't find her sword and shield."

Reimu smiles back and casually says "she'll find them when she's better."

Rika comes back from the room and quietly bows to Reimu, then Reimu says "come on, let's get her inside."

Aya whispers "Momiji, are you awake?"

Momiji manages to narrowly open her left eye and smiles as she weakly wags her tail.

Aya smiles back and says "we're gonna move you now."

Momiji nods, then quickly falls back asleep.

After setting Momiji comfortably inside Reimu's room, Rika closes the door then heads to the kitchen to prepare some tea, as Reimu and Aya sit on the shrine's porch.

Aya stretches and says "ayayaya, so glad everything turns out just fine."

Reimu smiles and says "glad to see you back to your old self!"

They both smile to each other as Rika comes and hands them their cup of tea, then, as they drink, Reimu notices Aya looking around, and that's when Reimu realizes the back of her shrine looks like a battle zone.

Patches of the ground entirely gone, dirt set into large mountains, cut marks all over.

Reimu spits out her tea, drops her cup and runs toward the mess, shouting "Rika~! What the hell happened here? Who did all this?!"

Blushing, Rika comes out of the shrine, and as if trying to hide herself entirely, she hesitantly says "tha-- it was me... I'm sorry lady Reimu."

Reimu opens her eyes wide as she looks at Rika, then asks "eh!? You did this?"

Rika adds "I was going to clean it up before you got here, but I learned those earth spells and..."

Reimu sighs and says "it's ok, just... help me clean this up."

Sitting on the roof of the shrine, Maribel, who has her magical cat ears and tail exposed, and Mystia, sway left and right as they sing, Mystia playing chorus for the song Maribel is singing.

"I know something you don't know"

"Chin chin"

"and I won't tell"

"chin chin"

"but you should know"

"chin chin"

"It's really messy down the well"

"chin chin"

"sweet shrine of Reimu's~"

"chiiiiin!"

Reimu sweats and shouts "what in the world are you two doing, you perverts!?"

Maribel and Mystia smile, then Maribel replies "miss Reimu, we're just singing. KYAAAH!"

Before they can react, both find themselves falling down the roof to the ground accompanied by 3 yin-yang orbs.

Reimu smiles dangerously as the two girls sit on the ground.

She hands them a broom each, then says "now clean this place up, you dirty-mouthed perverts!"

Lowering her ears, Maribel looks to Mystia and says "that's the last time we try to cheer her up!"

Mystia nods at Maribel, then Reimu grabs them both by their ears and lifts them to their feet, making them sweep and clean the shrine on their own.

-

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the Garden of the Sun.

Marisa looks on, trying to see above the tall sunflowers, but she is barely able to tell what's going on, if anything at all.

Yuki yawns and says "this is boring. Come on, let's barge in, take the bird, and go home."

Marisa covers Yuki's mouth after hearing some loud rustling coming from the sunflowers.

After the rustling stops, Marisa whispers "there's something in those sunflowers. It could be our shadow, so keep quiet."

Yuki nods, then Marisa lets go of her mouth, then whispers "keep hidden between the sunflowers, and if it looks like you've been spotted, fly away as fast as you can."

Again, Yuki nods quietly, then follows Marisa inside the towering sunflowers, both followed by a violet yin-yang orb each.

Meanwhile, at the Hakurei Shrine, Yukari plugs a strange black box that comes connected with two pads with 4 directional arrows on a cross on one side, two tabs on the top, and oddly placed buttons with letters on them at the other side.

Reimu looks at it rather suspiciously and asks "this isn't some trap, right?"

Yukari replies "fu fu fu, Reimu, I wouldn't do that to you, sweetie."

Yukari plugs in one last cable to the violet yin-yang, then the screen turns on on it's own, showing a drawing with the word "R-PINK" as big as the screen, and small blinking letters the read "press start"

Yukari says "go on, press that red button on your controller. You too, Aya. Come and play!"

Aya curiously gets closer and stares at everything, saying "ayayayaya~ This all looks so amazing. What is this?"

Yukari says "it's like those things you play at Kourindou's, only this one I modified to play on my orbs. Now go ahead, Reimu. Since you are player 1, you get to pick a character."

On the screen there are only two characters, both dressed in black and holding guns on their hands, and one of them with a witch's hat key-chain hanging from her pocket.

Reimu picks the more self-confident looking one, while saying "hmm, I think this one's better."

Aya says "figures you'd pick that one. Ah well, let's just play."

When the game starts, Reimu and Aya control their characters through split screens, both their characters looking over towering sunflowers.

Reimu says "eh, let's just start this."

Yukari says "oh, hold the A button to run."

Reimu asks "All the time?"

-

At the Garden of the Sun, the eerie silence is disturbed only by the whooshing of the winds, which cause the sunflowers to rustle, making Yuki looks around, feeling a little scared.

She realizes Marisa is no longer with her.

She feels her heart beating faster and uncontrollably, her arms feeling cold and her legs seems to fail her.

She shouts "Marisa?!"

From a little farther away, Marisa responds "I'm over here, ze."

Yuki holds her chest, feeling great relief as she says "phew. For a moment I thought-"

Marisa screams at the top of her lungs "YUKI~!! She can kill the sunflowers! RUN~!"

As if unable to control herself, Yuki starts running aimlessly around the sunflower field, hyperventilating and shouting "wh-what the hell is this~! I can't control myself!"

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu's screaming "why is she just running!? Geez, do something else!"

Yukari says "press the right shoulder button to aim your weapon, deary."

Aya says "hah, mine's working JUST fine! Look at that, I managed to run away from the bad guy, haha!"

Back at the Sunflower Field, Yuki stops running, then points her hand around, shaping a gun and constantly switching directions.

Now there is only silence and towering sunflowers everywhere.

Yuki feels disoriented and lost, and for some reason, she can't seem to be able to control any of her actions.

Yuki shouts "Marisa!? Are you there?"

There is no answer.

Yuki start feeling very cold, and then, the sunflowers start dying all around her.

Yuki shouts "who-who are you!? Show yourself. I'm not afraid of you!"

From her left, just as the sunflowers die out, the figure of Shadow Yuka glares angrily toward Yuki, walking slowly toward the fire magician.

At the Hakurei shrine, Aya shouts "shoot it. Shoot it already!"

Reimu shouts back "I don't know how, dammit!!!"

Yukari calmly says "while holding the shoulder button, press the A button to fire your bullets. Simple, isn't it?"

Reimu glares at Yukari, but is too concerned about the game and starts making her character shoot.

Back at the Sunflower Field, Yuki starts firing small balls of fire wildly toward S-Yuka, who uses her bare hands to deflect each and every shot.

Yuki slowly walks back and shouts "I can't fly away! Why can't I fly away!?"

S-Yuka reaches Yuki, who closes her eyes and hopes it all ends quickly, then S-Yuka, in a sweet and perky voice, says "why are you shooting at me? I just want to be your friend."

Yuki opens her eyes and asks "huh? Y-you don't wanna kill me?"

S-Yuka, now in a soothing, motherly voice, says "now why would I do that to someone so preciously cute as you, you sweet, sweet thing"

S-Yuka pinches Yuki's cheeks and pulls on them while smiling and saying "what a cute wittle girl. Who's a cutie? Who~'s a cutie? You are! Oh yes you are!"

The moment S-Yuka lets go of Yuki's cheeks, Yuki raises her arms above her head, her eyes fill with tears of fear, her face turns almost purple, then she starts running as fast as she can, away from S-Yuka, crying "I'm not cute, I'm not CUUUUTE!"

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu says "hey, why is she moving on her own?"

Yukari replies "that's a cut-scene. You have to wait until it's over"

-

At the Sunflower Field, Yuki finds herself right in front of Yuka's house, and as if unable to controls her movement, she opens the door, and as she does, she whines "but I don't WANNA go in there! Waaah! Why can't I control myself!?"

Immediately inside, she spots Okuu inside a large bird-cage, wearing a pink ribbon and pink skirt, swinging herself contently on the cage's pink-rose-covered swing.

She looks at Yuki and says "Unyu~? A visitor? How unusual!"

From a large pot beside the cage, Yuka's voice, sounding very annoyed, says "let me guess, more pink paint and more sunflower seeds for you, right?"

Okuu replies "no, it's a blond girl that looks really scared."

Yuki looks around and her eyes get cast in shadow, and as she looks around, she gets more and more pale, until her entire skin is completely white.

Trembling, Yuki says "the roof, the walls, the furniture, even the pajamas are pink! No~!"

From the pot, sounding even more annoyed, Yuka shouts "hey, HEY stop making fun of my pajamas, you chicken!"

Breathing heavily, Yuki says "I-I... I gotta get outta here~!"

Yuki tries with all her might to turn around and leave, but instead she finds herself heading straight inside Yuka's room, where she finds papers written in pink.

One reads "over the cute pink rainbow, you will find pink coins to buy MORE pink skirts for good little girls!"

Yuki feels her stomach churn.

Again she wants to leave, but she grabs another paper and reads "pink is the color of love. One day, love will be seen everywhere, and butterflies will spread their wings and paint the world with pink love."

Yuki covers her mouth, her eyes cast in a dark shadow.

For a moment, she thinks she has control of herself and tries to leave, but feels a pull toward a closet where she finds a pink colored diary.

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu asks "what with those disgusting notes!? What kind of game is this?"

Yukari smiles and says "a horror game"

Aya shouts "HA! Found another healing item... ooh, and there were some extra bullets in there as well! Ohh, look at that, I found some bonus items too!"

Reimu face-palms, but says "fine, let's read this diary!"

Back at Yuka's house, Yuki opens the diary, and to her dismay, this is also written in pink.

She reads "Dear diary. Today the cutest child and her pet cat came to visit. I grabbed them both and hugged them tightly, then took them home with me. I added a few more ribbons to the cat. She looked so ADORABLE rolling around on the ground as soon as I let her go. To the child... well, I couldn't contain myself. I had to hug her and kiss her, pat her head, play with her hair. Oh she looked so CUTE with that pig-tail! *sigh* But they ran away. Well, at least I still have my cute little birdie, who LOVES to play with me. I hope we can be together forever and EVER!"

After reading the diary, Yuki's eyes look dark, an expression for murder evident on her look.

She looks to the door and feels relief as she walks toward it, but S-Yuka enters just as she reaches for the exit.

Okuu flaps her wings, swinging faster in the cage, and happily says "nice lady~! You're back!"

S-Yuka looks at Yuki and says "oh my, so here's where you have been. If you wanted a makeover... you should have asked for it."

S-Yuka closes the door behind her, then Yuki screams a bloody death-scream that echoes all over the silent field.

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu's screen read "You are now PINK!"

Reimu tosses the control and says "this game is stupid! What the hell? I am now pink!? And what about all those STUPID NOTES?!"

Yukari calmly says "you are lucky Aya found a save point, or you'd have to start from the beginning."

Reimu asks "oh, I can try again?"

She smiles as she picks up the controller again, and just before picking the "Retry" option, she says "whoa. So glad this is just a game... geez, so much pink, it's disgusting."

-

Back at the Garden of the Sun, Marisa takes a nap on the house-sized petal of the blue flower Ail first revived for Yuka.

She wakes up after hearing some faint crying.

Groggy, she scans toward the source of the crying and asks "Yu.... Yuki?"

Yuki cries as she runs to Marisa, shouting "MARISA~~! Help me~~~!"

Yuki wears a frilly pink dress with a puffy skirt that stays puffed, revealing Yuki's bloomers.

Her shoes are now light-pink sandals with white socks that have red and pink heart designs on them.

Her lips are painted with rose lipstick, her cheeks painted pink, her hair combed and puffed, and her hat replaced by a light-pink bow that has a red heart on the border.

Marisa's eyes expand, her pupil disappears, and she tries to hide under the large petal, but Yuki sees her and cries "Marisa, you have to help me~! Look what that monster did to me~!"

At the Hakurei Shrine, Aya comments "wow, Reimu, your character looks disgusting."

Reimu shouts "it's not my fault, she caught me off-guard!"

Yukari chuckles quietly, and on the screen, small red letters at one of the edges read "REC".

Back at the Field of the Sun, Yuki places her head on Marisa's apron, using it for both, cleaning off the makeup and to cry on, sobbing "and then I found these stupid notes in pink that made no sense at all! And then she came and did all these horrible THINGS to me~!"

Marisa sighs, keeping her eyes narrow as she says "calm down, calm down."

Yuki shouts "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN! I'm PINK! PINK!!!"

Marisa sighs, then says "if it makes you feel any better, I've been finding many useless things myself, look. A red box, a pack of lies, papers with pink letters, and a map the the underground facility."

Yuki, after cleaning off the makeup, screams and grabs the sandals and socks, rips them off while shouting "I am not...!"

She grabs the bow on her head and tears it off "...going to...!"

She grabs the skirt and breaks the wires that keep it puffy "...stand for this ANY LONGER!"

She grabs the dress, but Marisa grabs her arms and shouts "hey, hey, don't go streaking now!"

Yuki cries some more and says "but it's so pink!"

Marisa says "for some reason, the shadow can't seem to get close to this flower. Let's stay here and think of a plan, alright?"

Yuki sighs, keeping her eyes narrow as streams of tears run down her cheeks, then says "alright, alright!"

Marisa says "I'll be over at this side, alright? You keep watch over there in case that shadow comes by."

Yuki nods, then Marisa walks to the next petal.

She stares at the useless items she gathered, then, from amongst all the useless things, she grabs the red box and peeks inside, only to be struck by a large pink powder puff that makes her face look pink in color.

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu laughs hard, as this cost Aya 98% of her life bar.

-

At the Garden of the Sun, Yuki starts trembling as S-Yuka's figure slowly heads closer toward their location.

She whimpers and tires to call Marisa, but her voice comes out so soft, Marisa can't hear her.

S-Yuka is now even closer, glaring angrily toward the flower.

Finally, Yuki manages to take a deep breath and shouts "Ma-Marisa, she's here~!"

Marisa comes running to Yuki, and when S-Yuka sees them she shouts "oh my, my, my~! Another cute child! Please, come down here. I want to hug you, kiss you and dress you up like an adorable little DOLL!"

Marisa shivers and says "uuu~, now I understand why you're all crying."

Marisa stands on the petal, then shouts back "now listen you! You better scram before I have to hurt you!"

S-Yuka shouts back "just get away from that icky flower, deary. I'll make you some nice iced tea with peaches on the side."

At the Hakurei Shrine, Aya says "alright, this is it. The final battle! I'll distract this... thing, and you go get the secret weapon parts like I told you!"

Reimu replies "heheheh, this is gonna be great!"

From outside, a villager rushes to the shrine and shouts "Please, miss maiden! That evil spirit is back. You have to do something!"

Reimu sighs and says "Rika, could you come here for a second?"

Rika bows to Reimu, who continues to stare a the screen along with Aya as she says "tell Maribel to handle Mima, and give her this. Tell her NOT to read it until she's close to Mima. Understood?"

Rika smiles, bows, then grabs a piece of paper Reimu hands over while still looking at the screen, then she says "right away, my lady."

At the garden, Yuki and Marisa huddle together, whispering to each other.

S-Yuka tries to listen to what they are talking about, but when she gets closer to that flower, she feels weaker, so she has no choice but to back away.

After they are done, Marisa and Yuki shout "Blazing Black & White, BREAK!"

Yuki flies away as Marisa jumps from the petal down to the ground, holding her Hakkero in her hands, and defiantly says "if you want to dress me up like a doll, first you'll have to defeat me in battle."

S-Yuka narrows her eyes and smiles, revealing a forked lizard-like tongue, her eyes turn red, and an ominous wind spins around her as she opens her umbrella and in a hissing voice says "then, let's play little girl!"

Marisa smiles and says "well, you look much better now."

S-Yuka replies "oh, you think so? Thanks, I always though it scares others away, but-"

A blue beam strikes S-Yuka on the face as she speaks.

After the beam stops, it reveals S-Yuka's face is burned up.

She coughs a black cloud from her mouth and says "I think that after your makeover, I'm teaching you some manners."

Marisa smirks and replies "remember, you have to beat me first, ze."

-

Marisa raises her Hakkero and says "why didn't I think of this before? I'll just blast you right where you stand. No need for our secret weapon."

S-Yuka's monstrous smile twists into a wicked smirk and a quiet snicker.

Marisa points her Hakkero and shouts "Love Colored - Master SPAAAAAAARK!"

In the blink of an eye, the large multi-colored beam reaches S-Yuka, who opens her umbrella in that instant and reflects the beam of light back to Marisa, who gets blown away back the the towering blue flower.

Marisa struggles to get back up, then says "whoa... what was that all about?"

S-Yuka continues to smile and says "give it up, sweet wittle princess, and come get your new makeover. I promise you will WUV it!"

Marisa's face turns green as she says "oh, for the love of the fairies. It's like talking to one of Alice's puppets!"

S-Yuka's face and voice return to normal, then she says "I'm tired of waiting. If you won't come down on your own, I guess I'll have to do... this!"

S-Yuka sticks the closed umbrella on the ground then lifts both arms to the air.

Immediately, all the sunflowers and plants around herself and Marisa start to die out; all but the large blue flower Marisa is safely on.

After all the flowers are dead on the ground, they start sprouting legs and arms, then start to walk slowly toward Marisa, some even limping as they do.

Marisa's face turns blue as she looks around at the countless undead sunflower walking to her. Some even climbing on the blue flower.

Marisa shouts "w-w-w-wait a minute! You can't do that!"

Marisa tires to fly away, but she feels forced to stay where she is.

S-Yuka shouts "just come down from there already!"

Marisa replies "nooo~ way, ze!"

Meanwhile, just outside Ail's house, Budou and Phredia play tag, flying as fast as they can away from each other.

They stop for a second, and are quickly swept by a light-colored blur.

At Patchouli's library, Koakuma finds some books out of place and immediately starts organizing them.

She shrieks when she gets swept away by the light-colored blur, then Patchouli asks "Koa, is that you?"

At the Misty Lake, Cirno stands on a frozen spot on the lake and just as Daiyousei gets close to her, she says "now, if I can freeze this lake all the way back to the trees, then I'll prove I'm the strongest ever!"

Just as Daiyousei nods, both get swept away by the light-colored blur.

At the Human Village, Chen, Ran, Maribel and Mystia are casually greeting each other, then Maribel says "I was wondering, have you seen miss-"

In the blink of an eye, Chen, Mystia and Maribel get swept away by the light-colored blur.

Ran looks around, then desperately shouts "Chen? Where are you!? Chen? CHEEEEEE~N!" then runs after the blur.

-

Back at the Garden of the Sun, the undead flowers manage to wrap their dried-up leaves around Marisa's limbs.

Marisa smirks and says "pheh, you think dried up leaves can hold me!?"

Marisa tries to break free, but quickly realizes the can't break free as easily as she hoped.

Desperately she asks "what the heck?"

She tries once more to break free, then start to struggle desperately.

The undead flowers jump off the blue flower with Marisa on their hands, then S-Yuka holds a pink dress that looks as though it belongs to a fairy-tale princess, then says "you'll look so adorable in these!"

Marisa trembles as she tries to break free again, then desperately shouts "YUKIII~! Reimu~~! ANYONE~! HEEEEELP!!!"

From the air, Yuki shouts "Fire Sign - Roasty Toasty Burgers"

Yuki fires several red petal-shaped bullets in horizontal lines, in groups of 5 each, and along with them, medium-sized fireballs that arc along the red petals as they surround the undead flowers, burning them all to ashes, giving Marisa the chance to escape.

S-Yuka looks as though she's about to cry when Yuki stands in front of her and says "alright, you evil, disgusting spawn from the Nether-regions! It's time to send you back to where you came!"

S-Yuka glares angrily and says "that's no way for a young lady to speak."

Yuki smirks and says "take THIS!"

From her pockets, she pulls out Budou and Phredia.

Budou starts trembling and almost cries when she asks "where are we?"

S-Yuka glares at her and says "oh my goodness... what a cute little creature!"

Yuki shouts "that's not all, lady!"

From her pocket she pulls out Cirno and Daiyousei.

S-Yuka's starts bleeding a little black blood from her nose, just as Cirno clenches her teeth and threateningly asks "who are you!?"

Yuki pulls out Koakuma and Chen.

Chen immediately goes to Budou and both hug and tremble, and Koakuma just trembles and blushes, as S-Yuka gets closer, her nose bleeding even more and her entire body shaking violently as she says "this... th-this is too much... So adorable!"

Hearts start floating from her head as she continues to shake and bleed.

Yuki says "not enough, eh? Take THIS!"

She pulls out Mystia, who trembles at the sight of S-Yuka's mean glare and as if singing, she asks "wha-what am I doing here~!?"

S-Yuka holds her chest and says "hng! No... stop... this is just too much!"

Marisa walks next to Yuki and asks "how the heck did you get all of them inside your pockets?"

Yuki shrugs and smiles as she says "I really don't know."

Marisa looks to S-Yuka and says "should we blast her now?"

Yuki says "actually, this note I found at the lake says danmaku doesn't affect her. But don't worry, I got one last item here."

Yuki raises her voice and says "I am impressed. You survived all of this overwhelming cuteness, just like that."

S-Yuka glares at Yuki, clenching her teeth and bleeding black blood through her nose and mouth.

Yuki smirks back and says "but this is it. Prepare to die!"

Yuki pulls out Maribel, who still has her magical cat ears and tail exposed.

She lands on her butt on the floor and looks around, then looks at Yuki and asks "Yuki!? What just happened?"

Yuki smirks, pulls out a red ball of yarn and tosses it at Maribel, who stares at it for a moment, then says "nyaa~! It's the ball!"

She starts to purr as she uses her hands to make the ball roll some more.

S-Yuka start trembling more violently.

She grabs her chest and clenches it tight.

She tries to speak, but all she can say is "hnng!"

Chen joins Maribel, both playing with the red ball of yarn at the same time.

S-Yuka falls on her knees, trembles a little more, then she looks at Koakuma and Budou, who cover themselves up with their wings while shaking and looking over their wings.

S-Yuka can't take any more, and suddenly explodes, shouting "WONDERFUL DEATH~!"

-

S-Yuka's clothes lie on the ground, and just above them, a thick black cloud.

Yuki takes a deep breath and says "FINALLY!"

Marisa smiles and says "wow, well done... but how did you know that would work, ze?"

Yuki says "I went to the bathroom at Yuka's house and found the instructions on how to finish her off in there."

At the Hakurei Shrine, Aya smacks the laughing Reimu on her shoulder and says "you cheated! I was supposed to win!"

Yukari chuckles and says "ladies, it's not over yet."

At the Garden of the Sun, all but Chen, Budou and Phredia head back to their respective places, then Yuki says "you two wait here. I want to get my clothes back before I take you back, alright?"

Chen and Budou nod, but when Yuki turns around to Marisa, she notices her pointing a trembling arm behind Yuki.

Yuki smiles and says "what's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

Marisa continues to point, so Yuki shrugs, turns around and says "whatever, look let's go get my clothe back. These pink things are...-"

Yuki looks toward the thick black cloud as it takes the shape of a large orb as big as a two story house.

Budou and Chen run behind Marisa, who places her arms around them and guides them to the large blue flower.

Yuki stands frozen right in front of the orb as it sprouts three sticks on each side, then a mound of flesh that turns into S-Yuka's body, still wearing her shirt and vest.

She hisses after her new towering spider-like body is complete, and in a thundering voice, she says "you're not getting your clothes back! I burned them after you left crying like a baby!"

Yuki gasps and shouts "YOU MONSTER!!!"

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu and Aya look awestruck as they watch the monster materialize in their screen.

Yukari giggles and says "you thought it would be that easy?"

Back at the garden, Yuki glares angrily toward the monster that is S-Yuka, pulls out a spell card, and shouts "you are going to PAY FOR THAT!!!"

Standing bravely between the monster and the two girls, Marisa and Yuki face the creature, Marisa smiling at Yuki and saying "let's hit her together."

Yuki nods, then Marisa points her Hakkero to the shadow.

At the same time as Marisa shouts "Perverse Love - Easy-Harvest Master Spark" Yuki shouts "Cooking Under the Moon"

Yuki summons four large fireballs that hover to her left and right.

The fireballs expel waves of smaller fireballs that spread randomly as Yuki fires extra-large red fire orbs that explode when close to the target, releasing 5 red crystal-shaped bullets.

Marisa's beam penetrates the creatures defenses and allows Yuki's spell to make direct contact.

Smoke rises as S-Yuka hisses and screams in pain, and then, after the spells are finished, silence.

Marisa and Yuki high-five, shouting "we ROCK!" but a pair of thin and hairy spider legs grab them both.

S-Yuka cackles, then says "I WAS going to give just only a makeover, make you miserable and gain more power from it, but... I guess eating you should be enough!"

Budou shouts "NO~! Please, don't!"

S-Yuka's eyes glow blood-red as she hisses and glares toward Budou and Chen, who are still on the blue flower.

Budou twitches, then back-steps to Chen, then both girls start to sob, then progress to uncontrollable crying.

S-Yuka shouts "no-no-no-no, wait, I'm s-sorry!"

She tries to get closer, but she shrinks as she gets closer to the flower.

She drops the two witches to the ground and says "please, calm those precious things down!"

Marisa asks "but I though that gave you strength?"

S-Yuka replies "but those two are just too cute. Please, calm them down and I won't eat you... or give you makeovers."

Marisa and Yuki both stare suspiciously, but the cries of the two girls convince them to go to them.

From the distance, loud thuds and rumblings shake the ground, each time getting closer and more violent.

Even Marisa and Yuki look around and desperately ask at the same time as S-Yuka "what's going on!"

From the distance, a voice shouts "CheeeeeEEEEEEEE~~N!!"

The voice gets closer and closer, and as Yuki asks "what's THAT now?"

Marisa shouts "TAKE COVEEEER!" then drops to the ground, Yuki quickly following.

S-Yuka gets engulfed by flames, explosions and insane amounts of danmaku, and from the still living sunflowers, running at maddening speeds is Ran, who uses her claws that deliver the final blow to S-Yuka, cutting her human-like torso from the spider-like body, making her scream as her spider body turns into dust.

Her massive spider body is gone.

S-Yuka's torso lies on the ground, agonizing and bleeding that black blob from her the abdomen, and just beside her is Sanae, holding the washtub that struck Kanako before, staring angrily at the shadow.

She lifts the large Washtub above her head, then squashes the shadow under it, finally ending S-Yuka's life.

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu shouts "WHAAAAT!? All that and it's THOSE TWO who finish it off? What a rip-off!"

Aya adds "eh, it was good."

Yukari chuckles, then says "well, glad to see you still had your fun. I'll be taking this and bring another game sometime."

Reimu grabs Yukari's sleeve, and with a smirk on her face, she asks "those were Yuki and Marisa, right? I mean the REAL Yuki and Marisa, am I right?"

Yukari stares back at Reimu for some time, then says "I can't fool you, not even once, can I?"

Reimu's lips wiggle for a moment while Aya looks dumb-struck, asking "wait, what? Were we really playing?"

Yukari nods and says "well of course you were. You helped those girls accomplish their mission quite well."

Aya turns to Reimu, who can't control herself and start laughing loud and banging her fist on the floor, while placing her face on her forearm, and while laughing, she shouts "so that's Yuki? Yuki wearing pink!? ....Pffft HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA~"

Aya stares at Reimu for a moment as she continues to laugh, trying to hold herself from laughing as well, but can't hold her laughter and joins Reimu for a good laugh.

Yukari smiles, then turns to unplug the cables, then says to herself "glad to see her so happy at others misfortunes."

Above the shrine, spinning and humming to herself, Hina flies by, and as if singing, she says "such colorful misfortune~!"

At the Garden of the Sun, Sanae carries Budou, who giggles and says "thanks mama. The mean spider is gone now thanks to you!" then hugs her neck.

Sanae smiles back and says "come on, I'll take you home now" revealing her bandaged left cheek.

Budou gasps and ask "Mama, what's that on your cheek! You're hurt!"

Sanae replies "it's nothing. Your papa and gramma healed it quickly."

Budou asks "but why do you have the bandage?"

Sanae smiles and replies "to make sure it's nice and healed properly."

Sanae flies away with Budou in hand toward the Moriya Shrine.

Yuki and Marisa sit on the ground, taking a well-earned rest, when Ran approaches Yuki and angrily shouts "you've got some nerve, bringing my Chen to such DANGEROUS place!"

Chen peeks her head from behind Ran, watching as Yuki just sits on her pink butt, looking straight to the ground.

Ran continues "just consider yourself lucky nothing happened to her, or I'd have to punish you as well, missy!"

Ran walks away, saying "come on, Chen. We still have some things to do."

Chen happily springs toward Ran, saying "right away, Ran-sama~!"

Yuki, with narrow eyes and a tired-looking expression, asks "hey, Marisa... did you say something?"

Marisa, looking equally tired, replies "something about the bird."

Both witches stay on the ground, letting the late noon wind strike their face, when they both wake up and shout "OKUU!!"

Both run to Yuka's house, and upon entering, Okuu Asks "Unyu~? You're back? What happened to the nice lady? I'm hungry~!"

From the pot, Yuka, in a very annoyed tone of voice, says "I REALLY need to use the bathroom."

While Yuki opens Okuu's cage, Marisa smashes the pot where Yuka is in with her broom.

Immediately, Yuka runs to her bathroom and shouts "get out! This could get UGLY~!"

-

Outside Yuka's house, Okuu squeals with joy when Satori comes by to pick her up.

Satori hugs Okuu tightly, crying and saying "Okuu! My Okuu, you're ok!"

Okuu replies "there was this nice lady here before, but she's gone and she never gave me my lunch."

Orin says "ahh, I'll hunt a nice birdie just for you."

Okuu screams, and with tears in her eyes she asks "Orin, how can you be so mean!?"

Satori calmly says "let's just go home." but before leaving, she heads to Marisa and Yuki, and says "thank you both so much for everything. Marisa, tell Reimu that me and Orin will continue our search for Okuu's shadow. Miss Yuki, I'm so sorry for what happened to you, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your hard work."

Yuki and Marisa smile as Satori runs back to her pets, all smiling happily, reunited once more.

Yuki sighs and says "I better go home... I miss Mai, Yumeko, Shinki..."

Marisa places her hand on Yuki's shoulder, then says "hey, when you're done with all that, could you come back to my place? I need to ask you a favor."

Yuki smiles, nods and says "sure thing."

From the skies, Yuki hears Mai calling for her.

She raises her sight, waves at her, then Mai lands right next to her and asks "pink? Wow, Yuki, you're turning into a lady!"

Yuki spits fire from her mouth as she angrily replies "I'm ripping these off right now!!!"

Marisa manages to stop her while Mai says "well, never mind that. Yuki, we need you back home. Your... shadow... well, that's what lady Shinki called it. Anyway, your shadow and lady Shinki's shadow are threatening to take over Makai and destroy it. We need your help to deal with them."

Yuki looks back at Marisa, then Marisa asks "Blazing Black & White?"

Yuki and Marisa high-five and at the same time shout "BLAZING BLACK & WHITE!"

Mai sweats and places her hand on her forehead and says "look, let's just go back. I'm worried for lady Shinki. She went on her own to deal with those two."

Yuki stares back seriously, and without saying another word she flies straight to the gate to Makai. Mai asks "did I say something?"

Marisa replies "go with her. We've been here all day, so I'm gonna go pick a few things back home and meet you at Makai. Is that ok?"

Mai smiles, placing her hands on her hips and says "right. Thank you for your assistance."

She lifts off and shouts "Yuki, wait for me!"

Marisa stares at the darkening skies and says to herself "oy, this day's gonna get longer than I thought, ze."

-

Back at the Human Village, Mima continues to scare the villagers by entering their houses looking half invisible, and whaling at the top of her lungs, making some villagers run outside the safety of their houses, then throwing her head at those, screaming either "I'm ahead of your plans" or "look out, I'm headed your way! WAHAHAHAHA~"

Maribel and Mystia stand close to Mima's current location, then Maribel says "ok, miss Reimu said to open this paper close to miss Mima. Now, let's see here."

She opens the yin-yang orb seal, then reads "Dear Maribel, thank you for your help. All you have to do now is ask Mima to stop bothering people. Remember, she can be tough, but you can do it. Oh, and also, you have 3 seconds before this paper seals your powers and self-destructs. Have a nice day"

The piece of paper starts glowing blue and Maribel panics and lets it go just in time as it explodes.

Maribel sighs and asks Mystia "but how do I stop her?"

Mystia shrugs, then Maribel's cat-ears wiggle as she smiles and says "I got a plan! You still got that ball of yarn?"

Mystia pulls her hat off, revealing the red ball of yarn on her head.

Mima enters another house by going through it's door, whaling loudly and saying "give me your sou~ls."

The female villager inside shouts "get away you FREAKY GHOST!!!"

Mima feels offended and says "hey, I'm an evil spirit! Don't compare me to those ghosts!"

The girl clenches her teeth and says "whatever, just GET THE HELL OUT!"

Mima looks back seriously, then says "alright then... But before I do..."

Mima increases her size as her face turns black, her eyes glow red, and her tongue slithers like a snake's tongue, then says "I'm still taking you soul~!"

Mima stops when she hears a "nyan" from outside.

She peeks through the door, asking "cute kitty?"

In front of the house, purring contently while playing with the ball of yarn is Maribel, lying on her back and bouncing the ball on her hands, then turning around and chasing it after it falls down.

Mima's nose starts bleeding, then she smiles and slowly floats toward her cute kitty, and just as she's away from the roof, a silver washtub falls on her head, knocking her out immediately.

As soon as Mima falls to the ground, every single villager open their doors, cheering contently, calling Maribel and Mystia their heroes.

Maribel smiles then looks at Mystia, who's sitting on the roof of the house where Mima was before, hanging her legs on the edge of it and smiling, then both flip their thumbs up toward each other.

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou, Phredia & Yuki's spell cards were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

Some assistance by Snapshot2010

NOV 17 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N: Wow... No Ail. Amazing, wouldn't you agree? Honestly, I laughed so hard while writing this chapter, and every single paragraph came to me so easy, I was able to finish this really fast. Poor Yuki, though. Her ordeal is not done yet, and she's still wearing that pink dress. Ahh well. It's an enjoyable chapter. I do hope you agree with me. I would also like to add additional thanks to my friend, Snapshot2010, who gave me the idea of making Yuki and Marisa's shadow event play like a video game. I do hope you have enjoyed this chapter.  


* * *

**

Random Sukima Interview part 3

Interviewer: Willie G.R.

Translator: Yukari Yakumo

WGR: Welcome back everyone. Mister Sukima. Lady Yakumo.

YY: Oh, no need for formalities, dear.

WGR: Right. Well, shall we pick up where we left of last time?

RS: FH#$*% V_$V *%H$

YY: "Please go ahead. Whose flavor would you like to know about?

WGR: Glad to hear that. Let's see... Ah, what did Remilia taste like?

RS: Uuu~ )#$(^ B)B VNNRJ$#$^O^N# * $J

YY: "Uuu~ she was pretty sweet for a vampire. She tasted just like a cherry lollipop."

WGR: Well that's interesting. That also explains why you sucked on her like that. HAHAHA!! She was so desperate to break free.

RS: $*&%) N$)G!$!!!

YY: "Mister Willie, you are making me sound like some sort of perverted freak!!!"

WGR: Oh my, sorry about that! Didn't mean any disrespect. So anyway, let's move on. Err, no hard feelings, right?

RS: *$)JJ *$)JJ! P$*% $VGE

YY: "No, no. None at all. Please go on ahead."

WGR: Ok... Ah, what did lady Yukari here taste like?

RS: BLECH!!! *#&) $))$ JNER()$$ (%VN^^(

YY: What the HELL!!? HOW DARE YOU CALL ME AN OLD JERKY, you FREAK!!! COME BACK HERE!

WGR: Lady Yukari, please... CALM DOWN!! LADY YUKARI!!!

WGR: After that, Lady Yukari destroyed half the building trying to land a shot on mister Random Sukima. Safe to say lady Yukari did NOT like her taste description. Well, hope you will join us next time, when we hopefully have this place fixed and ready for the next interview. Take care everyone.


	15. Chapter 14

While Marisa and Yuki handle S-Yuka in the Garden of the Sun, in Makai, Alice has just reached the Palace of Pandemonium.

She feels a cold chill claiming her limbs, as a sense of fear and anxiety take over.

She looks on and wonders if she made the right choice by following Shinki.

In her mind, she sees Shanghai and Hourai looking straight at her and saying "we didn't break that dome so you could have doubts. We did it so you could help that nice lady! Go on, miss Alice. Stop hesitating; go and help miss Shinki!"

Alice opens her eyes with determination in them.

She raises her right arm to her waist, closes her eyes and clenches her fist and teeth, then opens her eyes again and runs inside.

Meanwhile, down by the lake, Yumeko managed to find Luize, and now both of them are fighting off little black winged monsters that want to rip their flesh for consumption.

With a short sword in each hand, Yumeko slices the little creatures with ease, while Luize fires blue orbs and lasers, blasting the little creatures into black dust.

They are surrounded, pressing their backs against each other. It seems to them that for each creature they slay, 10 more take their place.

Yumeko clenches her teeth and says "we must run away!"

Luize replies "agreed!"

Before they lift to the air, they hear Sara's voice above them shouting "Ballroom Elegance"

Sara Twirls in place, holding her waist and lifting her free arm, as if dancing by herself.

Her raised hand releases small white energy orbs that spread as they arc away from her.

Her own body expels scattered energy orbs of various sizes, and after releasing enough, she stops dancing, points at the creatures around her friends, and fires three red lasers that bounce off the rocks and trees three times each, disintegrating many of the little black monsters and giving Yumeko and Luize the chance to finish of the last few around them.

Sara flies down and asks "what is going on here!?"

Yumeko replies "shadows have taken over, claiming to be our lady Shinki and Yuki"

A green one-eyed, bat-winged creature with long thin legs flies around Sara's shoulder, then Sara points at it and says "no wonder! That fake Shinki said that me and this creature were married!"

Yumeko and Luize look a bit surprised. The creature looks arrogantly at Sara, and in a smooth and deep voice, he says "hey, hey! This is no treat for me either. Thank goodness I am free from you, though!"

Sara glares at the creature and shouts "WHAT!? You don't think I'm GOOD enough for you!?"

The creature says "don't take it personal, honey. You're just not my type."

Sara growls, but just crosses her arms and looks away.

The little green creature says "well, it's been fun, but I gotta get back to my REAL wife and kids. Keep it real, sweetheart." then flies away with speed.

Sara turns around and shouts "you BETTER RUN! GRRR! I'll get him and BLAST that stupid eye of his!"

She looks at Yumeko and Luize, who keep staring back at her, then shouts "nobody calls me sweetheart, and gets AWAY with it!"

Both Yumeko and Luize smile nervously, then turn to face each other and a large sweat-drop falls from the back of their heads, both unable to say anything to the enraged gate guardian.

-

In Pandemonium, Alice finally reaches Shinki by late noon.

Shinki stands in the center of a large corridor, staring ahead into an unsettling darkness.

Alice starts saying "mom, I finally-" but Shinki interrupts her with a most strict tone of voice "I though I told you all to let me handle this!"

At first, Alice looks sad and lowers her head, but then she smiles and asks "what kind of daughter would I be if I just let you handle this by yourself?"

Shinki lets out a soft laugh and a smirk, but continues to diligently stare toward the unsettling darkness, unblinking and unmoving.

Alice stares along, then smirks and says "I'll take care of it."

Without looking away, Alice unleashes a doll that quietly walks on her own toward the darkness ahead.

After entering into it, S-Shinki's voice can be heard saying "oh wow, what a cute dolly!"

A loud explosion, followed by the clearing of the unsettling darkness and S-Shinki's shriek signals Shinki to move in and attack, but S-Shinki sends a large orb of light-blue energy that makes Shinki stop and hold the orb with her hands.

The orb pushes Shinki back, but she grunts and manages to push it away, falling on her knees after doing so.

Alice runs to Shinki, shouting "mom! Mom, are you alright!?"

Shinki lifts her head to face Alice, smiling as she usually does, and says "yes, I'm fine. I just tripped over there."

Shinki points to a crooked spot on a red carpet, then Alice sweats and says "mom, you really need to be more careful."

S-Shinki reveals herself on the other side of the corridor and glaring at Alice and Shinki with tears in her eyes, she says "how can you be so MEAN! This poor dolly! Why'd you kill it!?"

She sobs as she gently places what's left of Alice's doll on the floor against the wall.

Alice stares at her with pity, but is unable to reply.

S-Shinki faces them again and says "that smart lady was right. You are MEAN impostors!"

Alice stares into the shadow's eyes for a moment, but Shinki gets in front of her and says "Alice, behind me!"

S-Shinki unleashes a wave of beams, and Shinki replies with an even larger wave of beams and orbs, dwarfing S-Shinki's attack, and blasting her constantly.

After the barrage is over, S-Shinki continues to crouch on the floor, holding her head and trembling, saying "ow, ouch, ouch, no, that hurt. Ow ow~!"

Alice and Shinki stare curiously at the shadow, who stops complaining once she realizes the barrage is over.

She stands up on her feet and stares back at Alice and Shinki.

Her lips start to tremble, her eyes get glassy, then she starts crying like a little child and runs away, shouting "waaah~ The mean impostors hurt me~ *sniffle*! Lady~ Nice lady, where are you~ *sob*!?"

Surprised, Shinki and Alice look at each other, then give chase to the shadow.

Shinki opens the palm of her hand in front of her, then Alice curiously asks "what was that about, mom?"

Shinki smirks and says "you'll see."

They hear S-Shinki yelp ahead of them, then they stop after seeing a large barrier placed by Shinki.

S-Shinki had bumped hard against it and cornered herself, curling herself into a ball and rubbing her forehead.

Shinki's right hand glows light-blue as she gets closer to S-Shinki and says "this was way too easy."

Shinki is about to strike her black-haired shadow, when Alice shouts "wait, no! Mom, stop!"

Shinki looks at Alice a little agitated and says "Alice, you know these are just shadows. If we let them live, they'll only be a constant threat!"

Alice points at the cowering shadow and asks "does she look threatening?"

Shinki looks into Alice's eyes and says "alright! But if she tries to hurt you, it's over for her."

Alice smiles and nods, then turns to the shadow, bends her knees, and slowly gets closer, offering her hand, saying "it's ok. We won't hurt you anymore."

S-Shinki lifts her head and sees Alice smiling back at her, while Shinki stares curiously around.

Gently, Alice says "I promise we won't hurt you, but if you try to hurt us, we will defend ourselves."

S-Shinki asks "you-you're not going to eat me?"

Alice gently asks "of course not. Why would we do that?"

Shinki says "Alice, there's something about this place... I think we should hurry."

Alice gently says "come on, just give me your hand and I'll prove to you we won't hurt you, or eat you."

S-Shinki stares back at Alice and slowly extends her hand to Alice's.

Their fingertips touch, and the floor under them breaks apart, making all three fall down into a dark room, Shinki shouting "that's right, this is Yumeko's intruder tra~p!"

-

Early morning at the Hakurei Shrine.

Ail and Ran sit on the ground in the front of the shrine while Chen, Budou and Phredia play hide-and-seek around the trees.

Rika comes out of the shrine with her wooden sword in hand, and looks to Ail and Ran, and curiously says "well, good morning. Such devoted worshipers, coming so early to the shrine."

Ail and Ran look back at her then Ail smiles and says "we've got really good news for Reimu."

Smiling widely, Ran adds "so we're waiting here for her wake up."

Rika looks back now even more curious as she asks "good news?"

Nearly 2 hours later, Reimu sits by her table, enjoying some tea made by Rika with help from Ail and Ran.

Reimu sighs contently and says "ahh, this tea is simply amazing."

Rika bows and says "miss Ran and mister Ail helped."

Reimu loos to her left and says "ah, the noisy bunch."

Ail and Ran sit next to the entrance, both with bumps on their heads, but still smiling, and Budou poking Ail's and Chen poking Ran's bumps.

Beside each, one yin-yang orb with steam coming from them, while Phredia stares at them curiously.

Reimu takes one last gulp, smiles at Rika and says "it was very delicious. Thank you very much."

Rika bows back and with a smile on her face, she excitedly says "it's my pleasure, my lady!!"

Reimu faces Ail and Ran, then casually asks "so what's this good news you were going to tell me?"

Ran and Ail look at each other, then Ran says "you go ahead."

Ail smiles and says "Reimu, Kyo confirmed it. The Random Sukima is no more! It ate Yuyuko and it exploded!"

Reimu gasps and says "really!? Finally! That's the best news I've heard so far... but..."

Ail sweats, but Ran answers before anyone "yes, it seems we have Yuyuko's shadow running lose around as well. But at least that's the last one."

Reimu nods and says "yeah, I guess..."

Reimu's eyes glint as she stares toward the trees around the shrine behind Ail and Ran.

Budou and Chen stare around curiously, wondering what is Reimu looking at.

Ail and Ran look back to Reimu with a very serious expression, then nod.

Reimu, with an equally serious expression, nods back, then smiles and says "hey kids, how about we go watch Rika practice her spells!?"

Rika blushes and sweats a little, managing to smile as she says "aww, miss Reimu. I didn't know you were interested in my progress."

Budou and Chen jump in place, Budou saying "yay, magic! I love seeing magic tricks!"

Chen adds "ooh, I hope we see something flashy!"

Reimu, Chen and Budou follow Rika to the back of the shrine, while Ail and Ran head to the lake, claiming to want to take a break.

Meanwhile, at the front of the shrine, Kyo and Luna arrive, Kyo shouting "hello~! Anybody here~!?"

Reimu shouts "over here. Come and enjoy the show!"

-

Chen and Budou sit on the ground close to Rika, who grabs her spell card and declares "Oath Keeper", then quickly enters the golden gate that floats where her card spins.

She comes out with one sword on her belt, then looks at herself curiously, asking "wait, didn't I get the other one? Ugh!"

She smiles as she turns to Chen and Budou, winks, and says "please give me a moment. There's another sword around here."

Reimu, Kyo and Luna get closer to Rika and Reimu asks "something wrong?"

Rika hands Reimu the wind sword and says "please, could you hold on to this while I check something in here?"

She hands Reimu the sword, then sticks half her body inside.

Kyo whispers "so you want us to flush her out?"

Reimu whispers back "in two minutes. Ail and Ran should be in position by then. Oh, please hold this."

Reimu hands the wind sword to Kyo as soon as he says "certainly", then turns around to address to Rika, but the second his hand touches the sword, a small wind blade cuts the back of his hand.

"What the hell!?" shouts Kyo as he drops the sword on the ground.

Reimu turns around and curiously asks "what's the matter?"

Kyo says "that thing cut my hand. Look!"

Kyo shows Reimu the cut. She stares at it, and then at the sword on the ground, then smirks and says "well, I see what's going on. You're too clumsy for your own good."

Kyo's eyes hide under shadow, while the word "pissed" writes itself on fire right behind him as he threateningly says "you're dying for a fight, aren't you!?"

Reimu smiles and says "come on, Kyo. How can a sheathed sword cut you like that?"

Right then, Rika struggles against the golden gate, then pulls out another sheathed sword that goes flying straight at Kyo, who instinctively reaches to catch it, but as soon as his hands touch the sheath, this hand turns to stone.

The sheathed sword bounces back to Reimu, who catches it and casually says "so clumsy!"

Kyo shouts "what the hell is your problem. You SAW what that thing did to me!"

Reimu turns around to hide her smirk and says "all I saw is a clumsy oaf dropping a sheathed sword!"

Kyo growls and shouts "Luna, you saw, ri--"

Luna is looking toward the trees and says "oh, sorry, did you say something?"

Reimu lightly giggles as Rika looks around, then says "hey, what happened to the wind sword?"

Reimu hands the earth sword to Rika and while giggling, she says "just hold on to this one" then turns to Kyo, pulls out a charm and places it on his hand, completely healing him and says "see? It's nothing."

Kyo stares back at Reimu with both the desire to blast her with a spell card, and thank her for healing his hand, but he continues to stare back with his mouth open, his eyes cast in shadow, and his hair springing from his head.

Rika looks at Budou and Chen, but before she asks anything, Reimu turns to them and winks with a smile.

The girls giggle as Rika asks "girls, what's going on around here?"

Chen giggles along with Budou and says "nothing. It's nothing."

-

Rika begins her demonstration, making the two girls exclaim with awe at her abilities with the blade.

Meanwhile, Momiji walks to the entrance of the shrine, limping slowly and asking "where is miss Aya?"

Reimu glances casually to her and signals with her hand to keep low.

Momiji quickly understand and sits just behind the door's archway inside the shrine, falling back to sleep almost immediately.

Reimu whispers to Luna "they're in place. Go!"

Kyo and Luna rush into the bushes and trees, like two black blurs,and immediately, something else starts running away toward the lake.

Kyo and Luna spot the child-like silhouette, and quickly give chase, making it run straight to the lake.

For some time, the only sound is that of rustling bushes and snapping twigs.

Kyo and Luna lose sight of the silhouette, but then hear a familiar child-like voice crying and screaming "no, no, please, let me go! Please!"

They reach the source of the crying and find Ail holding tightly to Suwako, who keep kicking as hard as she can, crying and shouting "please, no more, please! Let me go! Let me go~!"

When they looks closer, they notice this Suwako has grey hair, her clothes look old and dirty, and even her hat looks lifeless, tired, and worn out.

When they look into her crying face, they notice she has no pupil in her exhausted eyes.

Ran reaches them just as S-Suwako cries one last time "please, let me go! IT hurts! It HU~RTS!"

Three loud snaps come from her, and then she falls limp and silent on Ail's hands.

Kyo shouts "dude, what's the matter with you!? You use too much strength!"

Ail calmly replies "I wasn't even using force."

Kyo, Ran and Luna stare with surprise as Ail slowly places S-Suwako on the ground.

Her ribs, left arm and leg are broken.

Ail raises his face to Ran and says "tell Reimu to get me the stretcher."

Ran replies "why? She's not even breathing."

Ail looks to the shadow and says "she can't die."

Luna says "but you just killed her."

Ail replies "I can see traces of her life energy. It's trapped in the body."

Ran quickly nods, then rushes away to look for Reimu.

Kyo asks "are you ok, Ail?"

Ail stares at S-Suwako, feeling great pity for her and says "even her hat is trying to die... but they can't."

Kyo asks "can you make more sense?"

Ail looks to Kyo with a serious expression and says "take my word for it. She is living hell's punishments!"

Kyo and Luna look at each other, and shortly after, Reimu and Ran arrive from the skies with the same stretcher they had used for Momiji before.

Upon casting her eyes on the shadow, Reimu gasps in horror, then asks "wha-...? What kind of being deserves this kind of punishment?"

Ail looks back and says "let's get her back to the shrine... Is that ok?"

Reimu quietly nods, then quietly helps Ail and Ran lift the shadow's frail body to the stretcher.

-

At the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Remilia and Sakuya exit the mansion and Remilia asks "so Flan's been working? What for?"

Sakuya says "she won't tell us. She says it's a surprise. She keeps getting jobs all around, along with those two friends of hers."

Remilia sniffles and lifts her chest proudly.

Sakuya asks "is something wrong, my lady?"

Remilia says "ah, it's just that they grow up so fast, don't they?"

Sakuya chuckles and says "who could believe she was so mad before, we had to locker her in a room."

Remilia smiles as they walk to the gate and says "we Scarlet vampires can adapt to anything! Flan just needed more time."

As they pass through the gate, Meiling asks "ah, going out?"

Sakuya opens an umbrella to cover Remilia and says "yes. Please, make sure nobody enters while we're away."

Meiling salutes and says "no problem. It's been pretty quiet, though. I haven't even seen Marisa at all."

Remilia shrugs and says "well, forget her. Just guard the mansion. We'll be back later."

Meiling salutes and says "I will keep the mansion safe, my lady!"

Sakuya and Remilia lift to the air almost at the same time, then head straight to the Hakurei Shrine.

From the back of the mansion, two small black shadows jump the wall, and like quick little flashes, they enter through the hole on the roof, just as a small cloud covers the sun in that moment.

Meiling looks around quickly and suspiciously, then says "whoa... for a moment, I though I felt... Nah. I must be imagining things."

She looks to the lake and notices Cirno and Daiyousei playing with some frozen frogs.

She scratches her head and says "sometimes I think fairies have too much of a good life *sigh*. But they are still pretty weak."

From the left side of the lake, there is a furious roar that makes all the fairies in the area scatter away and hide behind trees.

Meiling stands her ground and looking serious, she says to herself "heads up... Seems there's some company headed this way."

-

Inside a dark room in Pandemonium, Alice wakes on on Shinki's lap.

The only light in the room is a small light-blue orb above Shinki's head, as S-Shinki continues to play with hers, turning it on and off, and giggling along with Shanghai and Hourai.

Alice sits up, looks to Shinki, then, while rubbing her forehead, she asks "mom... ungh! What happened?"

Shinki replies in a motherly tone "relax. We are safe here. My shadow turned out to be no threat at all, and it's all thanks to you."

Alice asks "to me?"

Shinki nods and says "yes. She was really worried since you wouldn't wake up, but Shanghai and Hourai have kept her company all this time."

S-Shiki notices Alice has woken up and shouts "miss Alice is awake! Yahay~!"

Shanghai and Hourai both fly straight to Alice and bow to her, saying "so glad to see you are well, miss Alice."

Alice grabs both dolls and wraps her forearms around their necks, saying in a relieved tone of voice "so glad to see you two again."

S-Shinki stares at Alice, looking a bit angry and as though about to cry.

Alice smiles to her, pats her head and says "I didn't forget about you. I am glad to see you too... oh my"

S-Shinki smiles and lunges herself to Alice, giving her a surprising hug, then says "look, look, I can write my name in the dark. Watch, watch!"

She struggles a bit, but manages to write the word "Girliess" in a light-blue light.

Alice asks "that's your name?"

S-Shinki replies "I 'unno... That nice blond lady calls me that."

Alice looks to Shinki, who shrugs while smiling sheepishly.

Suddenly, Alice is struck by a realization, then, in a suspicious and scolding tone of voice she asks "mom... How come you don't know where the trap doors are?"

Still smiling sheepishly and placing her right arm behind her head, while keeping her left on her thigh, she chuckles and says "heh heh, well, funny story about that. You see, I've fallen through that one so many times, you'd think I remember it. I keep telling Yumeko to mark their locations for me, but she says 'lady Shinki, if I did that, then an intruder would also know their location.' and so... We kinda have to wait until someone notices we're here to get out *giggle*."

Alice sweats, but notices urgency in Shinki's eyes, then says "Shanghai, Hourai, why don't you play with this shadow for a bit?"

S-Shinki, sounding a bit offended, says "hey, my name is Girlie. I just wrote it for you!"

Alice giggles and says "that's right. Forgive me."

S-Shinki smiles, then follows the dolls a little farther away, playing whit her light orb again.

Shinki gets closer to Alice and says "she told me that other shadow was making her create mini-shadows. Alice, they're trying to turn my Makai into their own. They've already remodeled half the palace."

Alice whispers "but she doesn't seem to be bad."

Shinki says "not her. Yuki's shadow. She seems to be the one controlling this one."

Alice looks back at S-Shinki and says "she's so innocent, mom. I don't think she's evil at all."

Shinki smiles and says "you know? I think I'm inclined to believe you, dear Alice."

They watch the shadow write the words "Motherly Doll" in the air and saying "you two are a Motherly Doll, so I will call you that, alright?"

Alice chuckles and nods while smiling, then Shanghai says "oh, that's such a nice name, isn't it miss Alice?"

Hourai adds "I helped!"

-

Just outside Pandemonium, still wearing the pink dress is Yuki, and Mai, Sara, Yumeko, Luize and Marisa all stand in the front gates.

Yuki is viciously eating two large balls of rice, saying "*munch munch munch* how did you know *munch munch* I was this hungry!?"

Marisa, sounding bored replies "oy, we were dealing with Shadow Yuka all day yesterday. Of course you're gonna be hungry. So what is the plan, ze?"

Luize whispers to Yumeko "what is that little monster doing here?"

Yumeko whispers back "I don't know, but she shut Yuki up. Just be thankful about that."

Sara says in a loud tone "alright, first things first. We need to find Shinki and Alice. Chances are they have already engaged in glorious battle against the shadows! We go in, join the battle, and BEAT those shadows out of Makai! Any objections?"

Mai says "Marisa, Pinky, you two come with me."

Sara says "HEY~ Let me separate the teams!"

Yuki adds "who the HELL are you calling pinky!!?"

Mai sighs, rubs her forehead, then says "Yuki and I have been working on our unison spells. Along with Marisa's raw power, we can use our team to advance, while you come from behind unnoticed."

Yumeko thinks for a moment, then says "I see. Well, that sounds like a good plan to me."

Luize smiles and says "count me in."

Sara sobs and with waterfall-tears coming down her cheeks, she asks "why do you agree with her so quickly? It's so not fair!"

Ignoring Sara, Yumeko says "you three make sure to keep each other safe, is that clear? And you, witch!"

Marisa points at herself as Yumeko stares at her and says "don't you dare double-cross them, or I swear, I'm taking your head!"

Yuki smiles and says "Marisa? Double-cross us? No way! We can count on her!"

Marisa whispers "thanks, ze."

Annoyed, Mai impatiently says "come on, we're wasting time. It's already noon, dammit!"

Yuki and Marisa look at each other, then fly side-by-side, grab Mai by her arms, then drag her along as she shouts "hey, I can fly on my own! Let me go, dammit!!!"

Yumeko sighs and Luize says "well, we better follow."

Yumeko looks back at Luize and says "no, wait... We better take another path. Come on, follow me!"

Still crying and sobbing, Sara quickly follows Yumeko around the left side of the palace.

Luize stares curiously with her narrow eyes, but follows without questioning.

-

Back at the Hakurei Shrine.

Late noon; the shrine is full of guests.

Rika helps Reimu treat each and every guest with tea and treats.

Remilia and Sakuya feel quite uncomfortable whenever Rika is close to them, but they manage to hide this feeling.

Everyone is involved in casual conversation, until Remilia says "so that's one of the shadows? What a pathetic form of life. She's living hell's punishments without even being dead."

Ail and Reimu hide their eyes under shadows, and in a strict tone of voice, Reimu says "keep your voice down, if you can BE so kind!"

Remilia stares back, feeling ashamed after being scolded by Reimu.

She looks away and tries to speak, but Suwako jumps back inside from the shrine's porch and asks "but Reimu, Ail... why keep her alive? It's obvious she is suffering, and if she wasn't, she'd probably be trying to kill me."

From behind Kyo, Sanae rushes to Ail and places her hand on his shoulder, then turns to Suwako and asks "lady Moriya, how can you say such a thing?"

Before either Sanae can continue, or Suwako can reply, S-Suwako starts gasping, her body starts healing itself, her hair turns light yellow, and even her hat starts looking a lot livelier.

S-Suwako looks around with her grey eyes with no pupil, then starts crying and sobbing "no.. no, no, no NO! I was killed. I'm supposed to be dead!"

Rika, Reimu and Ail rush to the shadow and try to calm her down.

Reimu tells her "relax! Please, relax! I had to place some charms on you, so you can't move while you heal!"

S-Suwako replies "I don't want to heal. I want to die already!"

She continues to cry uncontrollably, but manages to say "please, have a heart~! *sob* Do you have any idea how hard it is to have all your bones broken each day, just to wake up again *sob* and again, have your body broken, just so it heals again, and again! Kill me now, please~! Ple-he-hease."

She cries uncontrollably once more, making Rika grab her and pulls her from the futon and embrace the shadow, making her stop crying immediately, and gently saying "there, there, miss shadow. You are amongst friends."

S-Suwako asks "f-friends? But we are trying to kill you... we are trying to take your lives. We can't be friends."

Rika pulls the shadow away, so that she can see her angelical smile as she says "well, miss shadow, I think we can make an exception, right?"

S-Suwako stares back at Rika's smile, then at Ail, Reimu, and the real Suwako, all staring back with smiles and concern.

The shadow looks back at Rika again, closes her eyes, and leans her head against the maid's shoulders.

-

Back at Makai, on the outsides of Pandemonium, Yumeko lands on a very small ledge, and presses herself against the wall as hard as she can.

At first, Luize and Sara think she's doing this to prevent from falling, but then they see four blocks, each at the end of each limb, and a fifth one just under her chest, sink into the wall itself, and then, a door opens up.

Yumeko flies in front of the opening and bows while saying "my lady."

For some time, nothing happens, but from inside, smiling as usual, comes Shinki, saying "oh, Yumeko, I knew you'd find us. Come on Alice, Girlie, Shanghai, Hourai. Time to get out."

Yumeko asks "Girlie. Who's Girlie?"

Alice, Shanghai and Hourai follow Shinki, and following them is S-Shinki.

Yumeko shouts "it's the shadow!"

S-Shinki hides behind Alice after yelping, then Shinki quickly gets in front and says "no, no, it's ok! Yumeko, it's alright, she's with us."

Yumeko glares at the shadow, then asks "are you sure she's not trying to trick us?"

Smiling, yet emanating a strange and dangerous aura, Shinki says in a sweet tone "Yumeko, my child. Listen to what I'm saying, alright?"

Yumeko trembles, trying to back away from Shinki, but at the same time, holding her position.

She says "ri-ri--alright my lady. P-please forgive me."

Shinki kisses Yumeko's forehead then says "alright. Let's go back inside. Yuki's shadow has big plans, and if she succeeds, Reimu's gonna have all our necks."

Sara asks "that bad?"

Shinki replies "I'll explain on the way. Come on!"

Shinki leads the way as they all fly as fast as they can toward the main entrance to the palace.

Alice and S-Shinki flying just beside Shinki, the shadow clinging on to Alice.

Sara suddenly asks "wait, why not just enter through the windows?"

Yumeko smiles, Luize giggles, and Shinki answers "Yumeko placed some very dangerous traps around them. Sara, my child. You should visit home more often."

Sara blushes and says to herself "maybe I should."

-

Late noon at the SDM's gates.

Meiling keeps looking around, thinking "I know I heard a roar and some heavy footsteps... but I've seen nothing so far. Am I really imagining things?"

Meiling closes her eyes and says "phew... it seems lady Remilia will be home late tonight."

She opens her eyes and gasps after seeing herself, staring back at her, only with back-length hair and red lizard eyes.

Meiling stands shocked, unable to say anything, when her shadow says "you! Scram! This is all mine now!"

Meiling shakes her head, recovering herself from the shock, then defiantly says "no way, sister. This mansion belongs to my lady, and nobody else! Leave now, unless you want a beating!"

S-Meiling smirks, revealing her jagged teeth as she says "now that's what I wanted to hear. Even a weakling like YOU should give me some sport."

Meiling stands ready for a fight, then signals her shadow to make the first more.

S-Meiling scoffs, and in an instant, she transforms into a snake-like dragon the size of the mansion itself; it's scales are dark green, turning almost black against the little light of day left.

It's teeth are sharp and it's eyes blood red with lizard-like white pupils.

Meiling looks back with awe and surprise, and with a thunderous and threatening voice, S-Meiling says "what's the matter? Come and beat me up, little whelp!"

Meiling shakes her head again to recover herself from the shock, then says "y-you'll regret messing with me!"

Meiling's arms and legs get surrounded in multi-colored flames, then she launches various combinations of punches and kicks, hitting the dragon as hard as she can.

S-Meiling laughs hysterically and says "oh, that tickles. HAHAHAHA Stop, stop, you're gonna tickle me to death! HAHAHAHA!"

-

Moments earlier at the Hakurei Shrine, having calmed down and enjoying some tea specially prepared by Reimu, S-Suwako sits with her legs inside the futon, taking many small sips of tea.

She notices everyone staring at her, so she smiles back, feeling a little nervous.

Budou stares at her for a moment, then goes to Sanae and whispers "mama, are you sure she's a shadow?"

Sanae Whispers back "I don't know."

S-Suwako takes one last sip of the tea and says "I am a shadow. The shadow of a goddess."

She faces Reimu and says "miss maiden, thank you for the tea. Now, I am sure you want to know about us shadows, am I right?"

Reimu looks at at Aya, then says "well, aren't you just trying to take our places for this grand 'evolution' scheme?"

S-Suwako scoffs and asks "who told you such rubbish?"

Reimu looks to the sleeping Momiji next to Aya and says "that girl's shadow."

S-Suwako smiles, then says "that young fool. She was biting off more than she could chew. No, miss Reimu. That's not the reason why we do things."

Everyone stares quietly for a moment, then Reimu and Ail, at the same time say "ah~, I see."

S-Suwako smiles at them and says "we are shadows. What we want... what we NEED... is a life of our own. We are compelled to kill our other selves in order to take their lives, so we can live in their stead."

Suwako gets closer to her shadow and asks "then why haven't you tried to kill me?"

S-Suwako replies "I am your shadow. True, I have some godly gifts like immortality, but unlike you, I lack your divine body."

Suwako gasps and asks "you mean, your body is that of a-?"

"...Human" finishes S-Suwako.

All, even Remilia look to her with a feeling of terror, then S-Suwako continues "I have immortality, but my body is that of a 2000 year old human. It breaks to pieces; so much pain; just to be restored after a few hours so it can just break again."

S-Suwako starts crying again as she says "I can't use magic, I can't fly... I can't even eat properly."

Reimu sighs and says "that's what makes my tea so special. It heals you as you drink."

S-Suwako sniffles, then smiles back at Reimu and says "yes. Thank you so much. It's the first time I've actually been able to hold something after consuming it."

Very suddenly, everyone but Budou, Kyo and Luna look to the outside.

Remilia stands up and says "Sakuya, let's go!"

Ail adds "if you need help.."

Remilia glares back and says "do NOT take me lightly!"

Ail stares back with unblinking eyes, then Remilia, in a more calm tone says "we'll be fine. It's nothing I can't handle."

Remilia flies toward the orange sky, followed by Sakuya, who bows and says "please excuse us" just before leaving.

Afterward, S-Suwako starts to wheeze, then asks "can... someone take me outside?"

-

Back at the SDM, Meiling continues to attack the dragon, but her strength is waning with every strike, and her fists and legs are full of cuts from the sharp scales.

The dragon stops laughing, then says "is that all? Allow me, then"

She strikes Meiling using the sharp scales on her tail with such force, she cuts the skin around Meiling's abdomen and sends her flying back to the mansion, making her break a large hole on the wall and the side of the mansion's entrance with her body.

She lies on a pile of rubble, then S-Meiling roars and says "you are NOTHING, you WEAK little whelp. Just leave, before I have to kill you."

Meiling struggles to get up on her feet, and as soon as she manages to do so, she pulls a spell card from under her hat and says "Kindling Strike - Great Peng Downing Fist"

After the declaration, Meiling runs as fast as she can to the dragon, then, using great amounts of power, she strikes with her elbow, then her shoulder, then then sends her fist upward, each strike emanating a rainbow shock-wave.

S-Meiling glares quietly at Meiling, who falls to her knees after the attack.

She grabs Meiling with her left claw, and as she says "you know... I felt that."

She tightens her grip, causing Meiling to shout loudly in pain.

The dragon smirks and loosens her grip, then says "but you did provide a good time, so I'll just bite your precious little head off. Don't worry... I got no basis to this, but you might not even feel a thing."

The dragon grabs the limp gate guard and raises her just above her gaping mouth, but a dagger, covered in red flames strikes it's left eye making the shadow drop Meiling to the ground next to the broken gate wall, as it roars and writhes in pain, shouting "my eye! What did you do to my eye!!?"

The dagger is stuck in there, and if she turns back to normal, it could damage her even more.

She takes to the skies, swaying her body wildly and hoping to strike whoever did that to her.

After she's gone, Remilia and Sakuya reveal themselves next to some trees.

Remilia signals Sakuya to check on Meiling.

Sakuya inspects her, and quickly says "she's ok. She's just exhausted!"

Remilia walks closer and says "that dragon has some nerve. Attacking my mansion when I'm away."

Sakuya asks "but I thought there were no more dragons in Gensokyo."

Remilia ignores Sakuya, staring toward the clock tower.

Sakuya looks to the tower, asking "what is it, my lady?" and there, they see Remilia, only with black hair and black eyes with red pupils.

She bares her long blood-covered fangs, her entire mouth covered in blood, her dress stained as well, and yet, she smiles and hisses as she reveals the body of Flandre on her hands, her blue dress stained in black blood.

Remilia shouts "Flandre!?"

Sakuya immediately grabs Remilia from behind, embracing her as she says "my lady, that's not Flandre. Look closer."

Remilia feels relief the moment she notices S-Flandre's body shattering right after S-Remilia tosses her toward Remilia, then turning into a black cloud and vanishing in the air before even touching the ground.

S-Remilia says "welcome to my castle, little lady!"

Remilia scoffs and says "you better get out of my mansion while you breathe!"

S-Remilia laughs and says "big words for such a small and pathetic excuse for a vampire, who can't even drink blood properly!"

Remilia prepares a few small spears in her hand, smiling wickedly and saying "why don't you come down here and say that to my face!?"

S-Remilia laughs, then quickly enters the mansion through the broken roof.

Remilia says "Sakuya, follow me to the library, and bring Meiling."

Sakuya bows elegantly, and says "immediately, my lady!"

-

Night at Pandemonium. Shinki and the others continue to fly inside the palace, feeling as though they can't reach any destination.

Yumeko asks "is it just me, or are we flying in circles?"

S-Yuki cackles and says "I was wondering when one of you might notice!"

A wall of blazing hot fire raises itself from the ground and ceiling, separating Alice, Shinki,and S-Shinki from Yumeko, Luize and Sara.

From the other side of the flaming wall, Shinki hears the three fighting hard, and screaming "look out!" "It's an ambush!" "Yumeko, Sara, help!"

Shinki tries with all her might to break an opening in the wall, but only manages to do so for a second, only managing to see Sara, Yumeko and Luize fight off a horde of black winged creatures.

Shinki turns around, glaring furiously at S-Yuki and demands "you put this wall out before I get mad, young lady!"

Shanghai asks "miss Alice, where are the other three?"

S-Yuki laughs hard, then says "an old bag like you couldn't even TOUCH me. You friends are chasing an image of me right now. By the time they realize they have been tricked, they will be dead."

S-Shinki flies straight to S-Yuki with tears in her eyes and says "nice lady! These impostors are really nice! We can be friends!"

Shinki and Alice sweat after S-Shinki calls them impostors once again, and S-Yuki smirks and says "I see they brainwashed you. Well, no matter. Just help me finish them off and we can continue to build the new world."

S-Shinki places her hands behind herself and looks down, blushing as she says "but... but I don't wanna. I wanna be friends."

S-Yuki smiles in a twisted manner, bearing her teeth and opening her eyes wide.

She starts to cackle, then from behind Marisa shouts "oy~, that was a nice trick, ze! Too bad Yuki is ALSO good with tricks!"

A washtub engulfed in fire falls right on top of S-Yuki's head, burning a little bit of her hair as it slides down.

S-Yuki continues to smile in a most wicked way, glaring at Yuki, who joins in, laughing and saying "that's what you get for trying to outsmart ME! HAHAHAA!"

S-Yuki is surrounded, her hair caught on fire.

S-Shinki desperately beats the fire off, managing to save her friend.

S-Yuki's twisted smile changes to a more natural smile as she face S-Shinki, then says "wow... thank you so much."

S-Shinki says "you're a nice lady. We can be all friendly right now, right?"

S-Yuki continues to smile, staring straight into S-Shinki's eyes.

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Ail accompanies S-Suwako at the front of the shrine, while everyone else stays inside, having a conversation on how to deal with the rest of the shadows.

S-Suwako sits next to the donation box while Ail looks to the sky, then she says "thank you, mister Ail."

Ail turns to face her, then asks "why are you thanking me?"

S-Suwako says "thanks to you... to miss Reimu and miss Rika, and all your friends, I understand something."

Ail smiles as he looks back to her, waiting for her to finish.

She smiles back and says "I think I can have a life of my own, after all, now that my body seems to be stronger. Reimu's tea really did the trick."

Ail smiles and says "think the other shadows could accept having lives of their own?"

S-Suwako smiles and struggles to slowly get up on her own, using the donation box for support.

Ail looks worriedly toward her, but she waves her hand, signaling him to calm down, then says "if we can give them the chance... perhaps they can accept that. But the urge to eradicate our other selves is stronger in some."

Ail Looks to the sky once more, the moon looking as though is smiling back.

He turns again to face S-Suwako, just as a black and red blade comes flying from the right bushes.

By the time he notices the blade, it's too close for him to react in time, and Ail opens his eyes wide, and his pupils contract as the sound of impalement reaches his ears.

At the same time, in Pandemonium, S-Yuki smiles at S-Shinki, then says "I'm sorry. I guess you are right. We should all become friends."

S-Shinki smiles and giggles, then turns to face Alice and says "miss Alice, miss Alice! We can be friend. We can be-"

A dagger made of fire opens through the inside of the shadow's abdomen, along with S-Yuki's hand, holding tightly to the flaming dagger.

Alice shouts at the top of her lungs, Shinki looks on with horror, Marisa and Yuki shout angrily and Mai turns her face away.

S-Yuki smiles as she gets closer to S-Shinki's face, who asks "but... I thought... you were... friend. *sob*"

S-Yuki replies "sorry, girlie, but you're helping ME, whether you want to or not."

S-Shinki's eyes fill with tears as her body slowly shatters and turns into balls of yellow light.

At the same time in the Hakurei Shrine, Ail's face shines bright yellow as S-Suwako pushes herself away from him with a smile on her face, and half of the black and red blade going right through her chest.

She tries to breathe as Ail kneels beside her and quickly pulls the blade right off.

Reimu comes from the shrine and shrieks at the sight of S-Suwako's body shattering and turning into orbs of yellow light.

S-Suwako smiles at Ail, who keeps staring horror-struck with his mouth open and unable to say anything.

She places her left hand on his cheek and says "I guess... my body was too frail... and you still got a cut... on your chest."

Ail shakes his head as tears falls from his eyes an on to S-Suwako's face.

At Pandemonium, S-Shinki stares at Alice, then at Shinki.

She smiles as her tears dry up and says "don't worry... it's not hurting anymore. Miss Alice, Miss Shinki..."

At the same time in the shrine and in the palace, just before the two shadows disappear, both say "goodbye, my friends. Don't ever forget me." then both turn into large orbs of light and fly straight to the skies, where they become a small star in the distance.

-

At the Shrine, Ail raises his head and sees his shadow self glaring back at him.

Even with the wound on his chest, Ail stands up straight, his hand glows red as he aims it to the shadow, and a beam flies straight at S-Ail, trapping him inside the beam itself and stabbing him continually with hundreds of red spikes.

Reimu joins in, firing an innumerable amount of charms and amulets to the air, and all fly straight to the shadow, who screams loud enough to get everyone's attention in the shrine.

Both Ail and Reimu continue their assault, seeming unaware that the others are there with them.

S-Ail manages to shoot many black and red blades straight at Reimu and Ail, who simply continue their assault on the shadow, so before the blades reach their goal, Rika jumps on Reimu, forcing her to the ground, and Suwako tackles Ail as hard as she can, and manages to get him and herself out of the way of harm.

By the time they all look to the bushes, S-Ail is gone once more.

Reimu and Ail look toward a burned spot on the ground, right where S-Suwako disappeared, both keeping quiet as silent tears fall to the ground beneath them.

-

At Pandemonium, S-Yuki viciously licks S-Shinki's black blood from her arms, drops the flaming dagger, then says "and now, I can use those powers of her the way they were MEANT to be used."

Shinki's face turns red when she shouts "you monster! You are going to pay DEARLY for that!"

Alice has already summoned 50 dolls around her, all with sharp blades on their little hands, and all staring back at S-Yuki with their lifeless eyes, and Shanghai and Hourai glare on with glowing red eyes.

Marisa points her Hakkero, which is throwing off small sparks as it trembles in her hand, while Yuki and Mai prepare a combined heavy attack of fire and ice.

S-Yuki smiles and says "I can deal with you guys later. Right now, I have a WORLD to rebuild."

She flies to the window and is assaulted by 8 short swords, but she expels a magical shock wave that sends them back to the ground, then flies outside, cackling and shouting "I am the new GOD of this world!"

Shinki and Alice are about to chase after her, but the wall of fire dies down, and they can see Yumeko, Sara and Luize about ready to give up as the horde of shadow creatures continue to attack.

Immediately, Marisa flies ahead and unleashes her Master Spark at the creatures.

Yuki and Mai fly side by side, taking out those that Marisa misses.

Alice and Shinki stare at each other, and with determination in their eyes, they nod, then start blasting those creatures that are close to their friends.

-

To be continued...

Characters, scenario and spell cards belong to ZUN - Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Luna, Budou, Phredia and Sara's spell cards were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

NOV 20 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter became really hard for me at the end. I'm too soft-hearted and almost stopped writing the chapter. Ah well, I will still write a small Sukima interview to lighten the mood a little bit.**

**

* * *

**Random Sukima Interview part 4

Interviewer: Willie G.R.

Translator: Yukari Yakumo

WGR: You see the mess those shadows are causing, mister Sukima?

RS: ($(*($JGHR $()$)_^ #$#%

YY: "I'm not the one writing this."

WGR: *blush* Right, so... Today I'll only as for one character flavor, since we are still rebuilding after lady Yukari's outburst last time.

YY: What's that? I can't hear you. You need to speak clearly.

WGR: Quite. Well, I'm gonna go straight at it and ask what did Sanae taste like? *Note*{somehow, the entire studio became quiet after I asked this}

RS: *#%$^GBKU$ $^&* FY(% B% _%+*

YY: "She was an interesting flavor. Sort of sweet and sour. I'd say she tasted just like key-lime pie.

WGR: I see...

Before I could even say "goodbye", the floor underneath us broke and I fell down to the other floor. Lady Yukari and mister Sukima just floated there as I fell. Hopefully I'll recover before our next interview, so until then, goodbye and take care.


	16. Chapter 15

Early morning in Gensokyo.

Reimu sits on some rocks, next to the river at the Youkai Forest.

She curls herself up and hugs her knees and reflects on the recent events.

She thinks "we all cried so much... over the death of a shadow we had just met. Why did that hurt so much?"

Reimu looks to the water and continues thinking while staring at the coursing river.

"Ail would just let the tears fall without saying a single word... Thankfully he has Budou, Sanae... the goddesses. Rika cried so much, I couldn't help but cry along with her. Thanks to Aya and Momiji... we managed to calm down, though."

While she continues to think, she looks to the skies.

Meanwhile, Aya and Momiji search the rocky area where they battled S-Momiji for Momiji's shield and sword.

As if being called to them, Momiji finds them quickly, shouting "I found them, miss Aya!"

At the same time, Reimu continues thinking "my shadow and Ail's shadow loved each other very much, and now HE is after Sanae and Ail's life for revenge. Suwako's shadow turned out to be quite friendly... The only really evil shadow so far has been Momiji's."

Back at the Youkai Forest, Reimu now lies on her back on the same rock and looks at the sky, staring at the yellow star left in the sky by S-Suwako after she died.

Reimu thinks "that star... Even in broad daylight, I can see it shine. That reminds me... don't these shadows just turn to black dust after dying?"

Reimu sits up and says to herself "ugh! You foolish shadow! Why did you have to go? Why does it hurt this much!?"

She drops to her back again, spreading her arms and staring back at the star, then says "Maybe... maybe we've been dealing with these shadows too rashly. Perhaps there's another way of doing this."

From her distant left, Satori says "if you figured out that much, then that girl's death was not in vain, don't you think?"

Reimu sits up, looks at Satori and Orin with surprise, and says "Satori, Orin! What are you doing here?"

Satori sits on Orin's shoulders as she says "Marisa asked us to inform you about that flower youkai's shadow."

She looks at Orin and says "you can put me down now."

Orin pouts and says "I don't wanna!"

Satori strikes her head, then lands safely on the ground as Orin ducks and rubs the bump on her head.

After that, she walks to Reimu and sits next to her on the rock and says "that girl, or shadow, as you call her, was no different than the goddess she was copying."

Reimu asks "so she was an exact copy?"

Satori chuckles and says "not like that. What I mean was, that she had a heart of her own."

Reimu thinks for a moment, then remembers Ail telling them about what S-Suwako had told him when they were outside the shrine.

Reimu asks "and S-Yuka only hid the real Yuka in a pot, and she took care of Okuu, right?"

Satori nods, then says "these shadows of us are both similar and different to us. Some accept a little guidance, and the possibility of co-existing could become a reality."

Reimu looks to the yellow star once more as Satori says "a different approach could be beneficial, but shadows like the one you and the tengu took on are beyond understanding. Those must be dealt with immediately."

Reimu looks at Satori, then nods.

-

Some minutes pass by and Reimu and Satori continue to sit quietly on the rock, Orin curling herself around Satori's lap in her cat form.

The ground underneath them rumbles, ending their quiet moment with a loud and thunderous roar not too far away from where they are.

Orin turns to her youkai form almost immediately, clings on to Satori while trembling, her tails frizzed and puffed, and asking "wh-wha-what was that!?"

Reimu gets to her feet and says "we've got another shadow close by! Come on!"

Reimu takes to the skies, followed immediately by Satori, then Orin, who continues to tremble as she keeps close to Satori.

Mid-way through, Reimu stops and says to Satori "there's some sort of energy disturbance up ahead. I think you better stay away from here."

Satori says "remember, Reimu. They are not all as bad as we thought."

Flying backwards, Reimu enters the energy disturbance, disappearing from sight as she does and looking back to Satori while nodding as she completely vanishes from the youkai's sight.

Satori looks at Orin, then calmly says "come on, Orin. It's time we continued our search."

Still trembling, Orin salutes her master and says "p-p-please, let's just g-g-get out of here!"

Satori smirks, then flies toward the Human Village, quickly followed by Orin.

-

Inside the disturbance, the sky looks violet, the ground feels soft and unstable, and everything seems to be off-balance.

Reimu looks around, then spots a small mountain with sharp rocks moving around.

She lands on the rocks surrounding moving mountain for closer inspection, then realizes she is looking at a snake-like dragon, which keeps scratching it's left eye, and roaring and thrashing around in pain after doing so.

Reimu exclaims "whoa~! A dragon!"

The dragon stops moving as Reimu says to herself "I can't believe it. This is Meiling's shadow self, but she's so powerful, it's unbelievable."

S-Meiling spots Reimu, and gets her face close in a quick and threatening manner as Reimu stands confidently in plain view.

The dragon roars at her, showing it's long forked tongue, the many sharp teeth, then stares at her with her good eye.

Reimu takes a deep breath, and in a soothing and friendly tone of voice, she says "it's alright, I'm not going to attack you."

The dragon growls softly, then Reimu says "I promise I won't attack you."

With her thunderous voice, in a demanding tone, the dragon says "prove it, human! Help me get this cursed dagger out of my eye!"

The dragon shows Reimu the dagger surrounded in red flames on her left eye.

Reimu stares at it for a moment, then thinks "this is a very painful death-curse. She's only hours away from dying. No doubt about it, this is Remilia's work."

Reimu lightly shakes her head, feeling true compassion for the shadow, and says "tsk, tsk, you were trying to kill the gate guard I see."

The dragon snorts as Reimu grabs a charm from her sleeve and gently places it on the dagger's hilt, canceling the curse and turning the red flames off.

She grasps it tightly and says "this may hurt. Are you ready!?"

S-Meiling replies "please pull it off already!"

Reimu uses all her strength and pulls out the dagger from the dragon's left eye, making the dragon roar and writhe around in pain, so Reimu flies away as fast as she can to avoid being crushed by the dragon's body.

The energy disturbance stops, everything returns to normal, and Reimu realizes she is not far at all from where she and Satori were.

She looks around, but can't find the dragon, then lands while shrugging and saying "*sigh* I hope I didn't make a mistake."

From behind her, S-Meiling says "human!"

Reimu turns around and spots S-Meiling in human form, kneeling on the ground, bowing her head and saying "I am forever in your gratitude. If there is anything you wish from me, I will do all I can to make it so."

Reimu sweats as she forces a confused smile and says "err, that's ok. Just behave and don't give me a reason to have to seal you! Umm, please, there's no reason for you to-"

S-Meiling lifts her head and says "that curse was claiming my life. I felt that compassion in you the moment you noticed it."

S-Meiling continues to stare at Reimu, and tilts her head slightly to the right, then Reimu smiles back, sighs and says "I see. You felt that. Look, just... stop trying to kill the gate guard, and don't attack the Human Village either."

S-Meiling bows her body and says "I... will do as you ask, miss Human."

Reimu gets closer, grabs her chin, lifting her head so they could see eye-to-eye, and says with a smile "my name is Reimu Hakurei."

She gently places another charm on S-Meiling's left eye and says "this is the best I can do for that damaged eye of yours. You should have improved night vision,though."

The charm glows white and the shadow feels great relief.

When S-Meiling opens her eyes, she notices Reimu standing in front of her, the maiden's aura shining ever so brightly, surrounded with compassion and understanding.

Reimu smiles at her and asks "what's your name?"

S-Meiling blushes and says "I... don't have one."

Reimu thinks for a moment, snaps her fingers, then says "mind if I give you one?"

Still blushing and looking away seemingly angry, S-Meiling nods.

Reimu says "you seem to be honorable, and quite powerful so how about if I call you, Kimi? Kimi Hong... since you ARE Meiling Hong's shadow."

S-Meiling bows her head and says "again, you show me great compassion. From now on, my name shall remain Kimi Hong."

Reimu stares back, feeling a little uneasy, watching as the shadow bows to her just for being kind.

-

At Makai, from the west, Shinki and Alice fly through a rain of fire, avoiding flame daggers and spears by inches.

Shanghai and Hourai are stuffed in Alice's shirt, and Alice is doing her best to avoid being hit around her belly, where both dolls are stuck.

Shanghai shouts "miss Alice, please, let us help! We can do it!"

Hourai adds "miss Alice, we are strong too!"

Alice replies "this fire is too intense. Just wait until I give you the signal!"

Shinki flies closer to Alice as soon as the rain of fire lets up, then chuckles and says "I see someone has children of her own."

Alice blushes, but even so, she smiles and looks to Shinki and says "yes... I do understand why you wanted to keep us safe."

Shinki smiles, then Alice continues "alright. When we reach that monster, you two can show me your stuff."

From inside Alice's shirt, Shanghai shouts "alright!"

Hourai adds "We won't let you down!!"

Just as S-Yuki's silhouette becomes visible in the distance, another heavy rain of fire daggers, spears and now large fireballs as well comes straight at Shinki and Alice. Shinki shouts "she's using all her power! Get ready!"

Alice shouts back "let's go!!"

From the east, Mai and Yuki fly side-by-side, swaying and flipping around the air as if they were swimming, in order to avoid being struck hard by the heavy fireball barrage headed their way.

From behind them comes Marisa, flying at high speeds on her broom, flipping and twirling as she glares straight at S-Yuki's silhouette.

She spots a seeking laser headed straight to her, so she pulls hard on the front tip of her broom, doing an aerial loop and dodging the laser successfully.

Yuki shouts "WOO-HOO~!! Nice one!"

Mai says "don't go getting cocky!"

Marisa stares back at them with a very serious expression on her face, then flips her thumb up and rushes forth, reaching S-Yuki just before she sends the next fire barrage to the west.

Just as the flames burst out from around the shadow's body, Marisa stands on her broom and manages to jump as hard as she can, managing to avoid the point-blank fireballs, then she joins her wrists, and with a confident smile on her face, Marisa unleashes 3 green stars that unsuccessfully explode with great force next to S-Yuki's face, then lands back on her broom at the other side of the shadow, and flies away, then turns around after looping in the air again to try to assault the shadow again.

While Marisa battles the shadow head-on, from the south, avoiding the last of the small fireball assault, Yumeko, Luize and Sara arrive just in time to catch Marisa, who tires to tackle the shadow out of the air with her broom, but a barrier bounces her off her broom and back to Yumeko and Sara.

Luize manages to catch the broom, just as is smacks her on the head, then forces and annoyed smile and as she hands Marisa her broom, she says "here you go. Try to hold on tighter next time."

Marisa smiles and says "thanks for the advice, ze."

-

As Shinki and Alice position themselves on the west side, Yuki and Mai on the east side, Sara and Yumeko on the south side, and Marisa and Luize try a direct, but failed attack of stars and lasers as they position themselves on the north.

S-Yuki stares calmly while caressing a red jewel on her jeweled necklace.

She smiles and says "so you have me surrounded. How clever. But don't you know?"

She grabs the red jewel and raises it above her head and shouts "you are fighting against an all-powerful god!"

The jewel releases large rings of scorching hot fire all around her repeatedly.

Even after dodging them, everyone gets a little burned.

Yumeko blows on her forearms, feeling as though she's literally on fire, as S-Yuki cackles.

Shinki closes her eyes and concentrates as Shanghai and Hourai jump from inside Alice's shirt and shaking their little heads, they say "we'll show her!" at the same time.

Shinki continues to concentrate, which worries Alice, who asks "mom, what is it?"

Shinki opens her eyes and screams out loud, her cry echoing all around.

The ground below them splits up without damaging the small trees and rocks, the tear reaches the lake near Pandemonium and fills up the gap with waters that become furious rapids.

S-Yuki smiles and says "you forget... I HAVE GODLY GIFTS TOO!!!"

Before S-Yuki is able to try anything, Shinki lifts her arms and almost immediately she unleashes a light-blue orb 5 times her own size like it was nothing.

S-Yuki smiles confidently and hovers in place, letting the large orb strike her hard.

S-Yuki continues to smiles with great confidence, but her smile is quickly replaced by great surprise and fear, as her godly shield shatters to dust and the large orb burns her directly.

S-Yuki looks around, hurt and awestruck.

She decides to run away, but quickly realizes Shinki has placed a large dome all around them, and the only way out would be through the rapids.

She turns to Sara and Yumeko and fires a barrage of giant fireballs, but both Yumeko and Sara lift their spell cards to the air, canceling out S-Yuki's fireballs, then, at the same time, Yumeko shouts "Dream Sign - Believe it's Unreal!" and Sara Shouts "Dance Sign - A Fight With Grace!"

Yumeko's spell traps S-Yuki's mind in a dream state, then Yumeko fires 5 extra large green energy orbs that set themselves around her.

A rain of tiny white orbs fall down on S-Yuki, however they have huge gaps between them, and the shadow nimbly dodges these with ease.

Afterward the large orbs fire short swords in five directions, however all the swords arch around, creating the image flower petals around the orbs, which almost take S-Yuki by surprise.

While all this happens, Yumeko leaves a fake body behind while she hides her real body inside one of the extra-large orbs, that orb flickers as it trails toward the shadow.

Meanwhile, Sara dances gracefully, lifting her arms and legs, and even shaking her waist.

Every move she makes expels white crystal-shaped danmaku that scatter, except when she kicks, which unleashes a heavy barrage of medium-sized white orbs that individually home in on the shadow, and after 10 more seconds, she spins around releasing various bouncing red lasers accompanied by bouncing danmaku knives that trail alongside the lasers, widening the range of damage from the attack.

Being in a state of dream, S-Yuki has trouble avoiding the combined attacks, getting hit directly by almost every bullet and finally by Yumeko's orb.

Shinki smiles and shouts "what's the matter? I though you were a god?"

After noticing her red dress dirty and her white belt cut off, S-Yuki angrily expels a sudden burst of energy that cancels the two spell cards and pushes Yumeko and Sara down to the ground.

S-Yuki glares at Shinki, then says "you worn-out old hag! I'll show you what I can do!"

-

S-Yuki moves both hands in a circle in front of her chest, generating a small fireball that expels a rain of fire as it forms.

Shanghai and Hourai fly in front, and before Alice reaches to grab them, both dolls engulf themselves in blue fire and start absorbing as many of the small fireballs as they can, helping Alice and Shinki dodge the scattered fire with ease.

S-Yuki amasses a colossal fireball 5 times her size, then says "absorb THIS you little rodents!"

Before she unleashes her attack, from close behind Luize shouts "Traveling for the Sights"

Luize raises her index finger above her head and unleashes a rain of blue petal danmaku in straight lines, trapping the shadow between one of the gaps, then unleashes red dagger danmaku that fall like rain in uneven lines.

The blue petals occasionally have gaps between them, so S-Yuki uses this to her advantage and sways between the petals, using her fireball to absorb the red daggers.

S-Yuki smiles and tries to release the fireball straight at Luize, but doesn't notice Marisa shouting from behind the fireball itself "Love Colored - Master Spaaaaark!"

S-Yuki quickly turns to Marisa, still holding her fireball and placing it in front of herself as a shield, but the multi-colored beam pierces through the giant fireball, turning it to dust, then strikes S-Yuki hard on her face.

Marisa smiles confidently, thinking she has won, but a small fireball comes rushing from behind her and as if homing on to her, it strikes her at the back of her head, sending her straight down.

Shinki shouts "Luize, get her!"

Luize cancels her own spell, then rushes to save Marisa from the fall.

Yuki glares at S-Yuki and shouts "you disgusting blond psycho! You're gonna PAY for that!"

S-Yuki cleans the burn marks form her face and says "whoa, the cute pink princess has some claws on her! Why don't you call your prince to battle me instead, before I stain that cute little pink dress of yours?"

Yuki's face turns bright red, her eyes catch fire, she clenches her teeth and every time she opens her mouth, fire spews form it as she says "you sick **** ****** ******* **** ***** monster with large fangs and *** ****** *****!!!"

Mai quietly exclaims "whoa!"

Alice grabs Shanghai and Hourai and places each of their ears against her own ears while covering their other ears and making sure no sounds passes through, looking back at Shinki, who stares back at Yuki with her mouth wide open and her eyes almost popping from her head and her pupils completely gone.

Trembling, Shinki turns to Alice and lightly shapes her head as she says "I didn't teach her that."

Yuki pulls a spell card, still looking furious, then Shinki shouts "YUKI, NO! You and Mai! You and Mai!"

Yuki lowers her spell card while still glaring angrily at the shadow, then nods and flies back to Mai, who asks "do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Meanwhile, S-Yuki stares awestruck back at Shinki and says "I swear, kids today!"

Shinki angrily replies "honestly, they pick up on the most disgusting things!"

Alice sweats and with a nervous smile on her face, she says "mom, that's the enemy."

Shinki smiles back at Alice and says "sweetie, sometimes small-talk can go a long way."

-

S-Yuki takes advantage of the distraction and unleashes a rain of fireballs at both sides, making Mai and Yuki dodge, and Shinki put up a barrier to protect herself and Alice.

After the assault is over, Alice glares at S-Yuki and says "you are just getting on my LAST nerve! Mom, let's do it!"

Alice pulls a spell card from her pocket, while Shinki pulls hers from under her shirt.

Alice sweats with a nervous smile, rises her spell card above her head, then declares "War Command - Do-... Dolls'"

Shinki stares at Alice, who stares back to Shinki, then asks "Alice, what's the matter?"

Alice closes her eyes and immediately falls down to the rapids below.

Shinki shouts Alice's name and chases after her, Shanghai and Hourai immediately following after.

S-Yuki chuckles as she watches Shinki saving Alice from the raging waters at just the last moment, then turns to Yuki and Mai and with a smirk, she says "seems all your friends are gone. Are you going to fight me now?"

Mai smiles wickedly, her wings turn demonic, then says "Oh, you bet your sweet head we will. Yuki!"

Yuki smiles a most evil and wicked smile as she says "let's see who's the pink princess after this."

Yuki and Mai both pull out a similar spell card, half light-blue and half red on the back, then both shout at the same time "Hot Winter Storm"

Both Mai and Yuki unleash a barrage of fire and ice danmaku in all shapes and sizes at the same time, then both elements spin clockwise, twirling faster, creating a storm of fire and ice that come from the right.

After the storm activates, Mai fires a thin blue laser at S-Yuki, while Yuki fires a homing fire beam that tracks the the shadow.

The attack strikes the shadow hard, even breaking any attempts of her to raise a shield.

S-Yuki opens her eye wide with terror evident in them.

She watches as both Mai and Yuki concentrate hard while unleashing the next wave of the attack.

She thinks "damn, another hit like that and I'm going down. But how can this be? I'm supposed to have the powers of a GOD... Unless."

S-Yuki remembers the manner in which S-Shinki died.

She looks at the arm she used to gather her old partner's blood, then thinks "but that's impossible. She was a shadow... how?" and looks up at the yellow star left behind by S-Shinki.

She snaps out of her thoughts and realizes Mai and Yuki are ready to unleash their spell again, then she says "hey Mai, do you know why your dumplings keep disappearing?"

She notices Mai's eyes and lips start to tremble, then with a smile, she says "Yuki sneaks around and takes them all, pigs out, then goes to the kitchen to finish off the rest."

On Mai's forehead, a vein start pulsating.

S-Yuki notices, smirks, then says "and do you know why that double date suddenly became a single date that you simply HAD to miss?"

Mai's face turns red with rage, her entire body twitching, her concentration failing.

S-Yuki continues "she added laxatives to your tea when you weren't watching! After that, she told both dates you had terrible diarrhea"

Mai can't take it any more, grabs Yuki by the neck, shaking her violently and shouting "dammit, Yuki! You KNEW I was looking forward to that DATE!!!"

Choking, Yuki replies "Mai... Mai~, the spell... ack!"

Before she realizes it, their spell turns around just before striking S-Yuki, then strikes them instead of the shadow, Yuki screaming "Mai, you idio~t!"

With her eyes spinning in places as they are struck hard by their own spell Mai replies "that's my line~!"

Both fall on to the rapids and are quickly swept away.

-

S-Yuki looks around with a smile on her face, feeling relief and saying "well, that was a bit harder than I though. Now how do I get out of this dome?"

From high in the air with a wide smile on her face, Shinki shouts "allow me to help you! Eating the Manju Before Your Very Eyes!"

Shinki raises her hand and from her fingertip she fires 8 thick blue laser beams that trap S-Yuki in a grid, then fires red lasers and red petal-shaped danmaku in straight lines and arched toward S-Yuki, who manages to avoid being hit, just after the grid vanishes.

Shinki spins and fires a barrage of scattered small white orbs along with blue lasers and two extra-large red orbs that after S-Yuki nimbly avoids, they explode and send medium homing red orbs that trail fire behind them, catching S-Yuki off guard and blasting her hard down toward the raging waters.

Shinki smiles and claps, saying "yay! I get a prize!"

She rummages through her pockets and pulls out a green-colored manju and gleefully says "ooh, green tea manju!" then munches down on it with a smile on her face, while Yumeko holds Alice under a tree, looking up toward Shinki along with Shanghai and Hourai.

As she courses through the water, S-Yuki quickly realizes she can't fly away, and the water and rocks are cutting her like sharp blades.

Up in front, Sara twirls in the air, and to her right, Luize prepares a laser on her finger-tip.

As the shadow passes by them, Sara kicks the back of her head and shouts "enjoy the ride!"

Luize blasts her abdomen with the laser, then smirks as the shadow coughs out black blood and her speed increases as she goes down the furious waters.

S-Yuki feels as her energy diminishes, but she struggles to hold on, thinking "no... no I can't give up now. I need to escape... build a new world of my own!"

Marisa catches up to the shadow, flying on her broom and smiling quite confidently.

S-Yuki stares with horror as Marisa raises one hand, gathering blue energy on the palm of her hand, then sticks her tongue out as she unleashes a thick energy beam that strikes S-Yuki on the face and makes her go even faster in the rapids.

One of the watery blades cuts off her left arm as she drifts into death, thinking "that girlie... I couldn't absorb all her powers after all. But I want to know, how did she do it?"

While she thinks this, Mai unleashes many small icicles around the water that stab the shadow as she goes through, but as if not even feeling anything anymore, S-Yuki continues thinking "she didn't kill her original self, and yet... she managed to get a soul of her own. Maybe they gave her one. Whatever... this is it for me, so who cares."

Yuki stands at the end of the rapids with a wooden baseball bat on her hands, ready to swing it with all her might.

Mai says "hey, pinky. That's NOT appropriate!"

Yuki stares angrily back at Mai, but smiles and says "you're right!"

The bat gets engulfed in fire, then she says "now we're talking!"

S-Yuki is just feet away from Yuki, who smiles wickedly and shouts "I won't need a prince for THIS, you freak!"

A few seconds before being in range, S-Yuki smiles, lifts her remaining arm, then flips her middle finger at Yuki just as she swings the flaming bat and strikes the shadow right between the eyes, sending her high in to the air.

While forcefully flying away, S-Yuki's body shatters and turns into black dust, disappearing from sight along the wind.

Yuki turns around with a smile on her face and flips her thumb up to Marisa and Mai, who smile back and flip their thumbs back at her.

-

Early noon at the Hakurei Shrine.

Ail sits next to the donation box, while Reimu and Rika sweep away some leaves.

Sanae and Budou are inside the shrine, cooking something up with the promise that it would cheer all three up the moment they eat it.

Reimu turns to Ail, then looks at Rika and says "come on, cheer up already!"

Ail shakes his head, then says "oh.. did I fall asleep again? Er, sorry about that." and Rika simply sighs and continues sweeping leaves.

Reimu sighs, then walks to Ail and asks "are you SURE you're ok? You kept too quiet yesterday, and now you simply sigh yawn all the time."

Ail looks up at Reimu, then says "if you're worried about me bottling my emotions, relax. I let it all out last night... in fact, I didn't sleep at all because of that."

Ail smiles back at Reimu, then looks a the yellow star in the sky and asks "still... why did that shadow's passing hurt so much?"

Reimu sighs, pats him on the shoulder, then says "maybe she was special."

She shakes her head lightly, then says "I'm heading inside."

Rika sniffles and says "I-I'm done with the leaves, my lady! Is there anything else you need?"

Reimu signals Rika to get closer, and the moment she does, Reimu wraps her arm around her neck and says "let's go help Sanae and Budou with lunch, alright?"

High above, using the clouds to hide, Kanako stares straight at Ail, saying to herself "Anilan, this is for your own good. Both Sanae's and yours."

She pulls a small vial of purple liquid form her pocket and positions her hand just beyond the cloud, but she's startled by Suwako's voice that comes from behind her, sounding disappointed and asking "Kanako, you aren't still trying to mess with him, are you?"

Kanako turns around and nervously responds "Suwako! Err, um, no, no! Just... cloud-sitting!"

Suwako crosses her arms across her chest, taps her foot on the could, then extends her right hand, saying "I've heard that one before. Now give me that vial!"

Kanako nervously replies "vial? What vial? I don't have a vial."

Suwako reaches for Kanako's left hand, then Kanako and Suwako have a small tug-of-war as Kanako says "no, you stupid toad, I'm doing this to save HIS life as well!"

Suwako replies "I already told you, it's not him, it's that SHADOW!"

Kanako replies "yes, I heard you. I'm just making sure!"

They continue to struggle for a bit, then the vial falls off their hands and straight down to Ail and Reimu, who are looking up to the goddesses.

Reimu shouts "hey you two!! What are you doing up there?"

Ail notices the vial, and just before it hits the ground he says "oh sh~" *BOOM!!*

The little vial explodes into a thick purple cloud that surrounds both Ail and Reimu, making them cough uncontrollably.

While they are still surrounded in that thick cloud, Suwako and Kanako stare down, then Suwako asks "are you happy now? You even got Reimu involved!"

Kanako casually shrugs and continues to stare down.

From behind them, Ail's mother, Ayalina, stares with a motherly smile on her face, but a deadly aura around her.

Suwako is already going down to check on Ail and Reimu, but Kanako stays watching from the cloud, unaware of Ayalina, who clears her throat to get Kanako's attention.

Kanako turns around, and the second she stares into Ayalina's eyes, her face turns blue and starts to tremble.

-

Suwako comes down to the ground just as the purple smoke clears, revealing two, foot-tall creatures, with big black eyes, dog ears and a dog tail each, wearing the same clothes and accessories that shrunk with them.

Ail and Reimu look at each other.

Ail sighs and in a squeaky voice he says "oh great... I'm a dog again."

Reimu looks at her hands, yelps, then shouts in a high-pitched squeaky voice "what the HELL!? I'm a DOG!?"

Suwako stares at them as her face turns beet red and says "I'm really sorry about that."

Kanako crashes on her face on the ground right next to Suwako.

Her clothes are tattered and burned, and has a foot marked on her butt.

Meanwhile, Ail and Reimu talk, Ail saying "I'm sure it was just an accident, Reimu, so there's no need to get mad."

Suwako, who sweats and smile nervously, says "yeah, Reimu I am serious, it sort of fell from our hands."

Reimu trembles while standing on all four limbs and growls as Kanako pulls her head from under the ground, rubbing her forehead and asking "what was that just now?"

Reimu growls some more, then says "accident my FOOT!" then runs straight at Kanako, barking furiously, making Kanako jumps on her feet from the ground and run around as fast as she can, shouting "wait, wait, it was an accident! Reimu, stop!"

Reimu finally manages to bite down hard on Kanako's ankle, making her jump on one foot, shouting "ouch, ouch! Reimu, stop that! Bad girl! BAD GIRL!"

Reimu continues to growl and sink her teeth into the goddess's ankle, glaring back angrily at Kanako.

From inside the shrine come Budou, Sanae and Rika, all three gasping the second they look at the doggified Reimu and Ail.

From above the clouds, Ayalina stares down, then vanishes, leaving a few petals fluttering in the wind, just as Ail looks up, letting out a soft "rowl?"

He turns to face Sanae, who is trying with all her might to pull Reimu off Kanako's ankle, and Rika smiling as hearts float just above her head, saying "my lady~! You looks so CUTE!"

Suwako stands next to Ail, and Budou goes and joins them as they stare on; Reimu barking like crazy after Sanae pulls her free, making Sanae scream out "no wait, don't bite there!"

Suwako says "yup. This is gonna be very nice."

Budou grabs Ail and holds him in her hands against her chest as he says "oh, it's gonna get even better, just you wait."

Budou nods along with Suwako, then says "well, lunch's ready, so let's go eat."

Suwako and Budou, who holds Ail, walk casually inside, as Reimu bites down hard on Sanae's wrist, then lets go and bites Kanako's right calf.

-

Meanwhile, at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Remilia, Sakuya, Meiling, Koakuma and Meiling all sit on a long table down at the library, Remilia sitting at the far center of it.

She stares down at her servants as she remembers entering the library before, finding Patchouli and Koakuma encased inside blocks of ice and ordering Sakuya to help her thaw them out.

Remilia takes a deep breath, then says "this is troublesome, but we could use this to our advantage. Now, Patchy, are you certain this shadow of mine ha all those weaknesses?"

Patchouli calmly replies "yes. Unlike you, water and sunlight should completely destroy her, but she also possesses all your powers as well, not to mentions she feeds like a regular vampire."

Remilia looks at Sakuya as she says "she she could turn others into vampires as well, right?"

Sakuya stares back, looking back to her mistress with elegance as she always has.

Remilia takes a deep breath and says "alright then. Patchy, you and me are going to hunt that shadow."

Sakuya looks down to the table, then glares at her mistress and says "my lady, no offense lady Patchouli, but wouldn't you rather have me at your side?"

Remilia's wings rise up as she punches the table as hard as she can, breaking it with ease, then stares back at Sakuya and in a dangerously angry undertone, she says "remember your place, Sakuya Izayoi. Never question me again!"

Sakuya looks to the table again, trying to hide her face as she says "ple-please forgive me, my lady."

Remilia calms down, lowering her wings again, then says "now, Patchy, ready as many water spells as you can, then you and I will hunt do-..."

Remilia looks shocked and gasps loudly.

Worried, Sakuya asks "what is it, my lady!?"

Meiling gasps very suddenly, and at the same time as Remilia, they say "Flandre!!!"

An explosion from the top floors rattles the library, almost knocking down various of the bookshelves.

Remilia and Patchouli look at each other, then nod.

-

As the meeting down the library begins, Flandre enters through the front door, saying "phew, finally, I'm home. Stupid Agava, had to scare those humans for no reason, making me late again."

Flandre feels a strange presence, but ignores the feeling as she climbs up the stairs, shouting "hello~! Onee-sama~! I'm home~!"

The mansion is quiet and feels empty, as none of the fairy maids are around.

Flandre's footsteps echo all over the empty halls and corridors.

After searching all over the mansion, and finally Remilia's empty room, she rubs her chin, then asks herself "I wonder what's going on?"

She snaps her fingers and says "that's right. Maybe they went to the red and white's shrine!"

Behind Flandre, from the ceiling, dropping quietly behind her, S-Remilia bares her fangs and claws, ready to sink her teeth into Flandre's neck, but to the shadow's surprise, Flandre is already behind her, looking at her with an innocent face and asking "who are you?"

S-Remilia hides her fangs and says "why, it's me, dear sister! Come and give you big sister a hug!"

Flandre smirks and looks at the shadow with a victory face and says "you should REALLY learn a bit more about onee-sama, you fake."

She opens her hand and quickly clenches it, saying "kyun~!" and as soon as she does, S-Remilia's torso explodes, splattering black blood all over the corridor and the walls.

Flandre dusts her hands and walks away, saying "onee-sama doesn't break that easily either. You're pathetic."

Flandre continues to casually walk back to the mansion's entrance when she meets Remilia and Patchouli on the way.

She smiles and waves at them as they land next to her, then asks "one-sama, where were you? I got back home and find everything so quiet!"

Remilia hides her desire to smile and says "Flandre. So glad to see you again. Tell me, where have you been?"

Flandre giggles and says "just been doing some things."

Before Remilia continues, Patchouli says "my lady, the shadow!"

Remilia says "right. Flan, there's a shadow pretending to be me around here. Have you seen her?"

Flandre stares back casually, then giggles and says "I broke her."

Remilia grabs Flandre by her shoulders and asks "show me!"

Flandre, Remilia and Patchouli calmly walk back to the corridor leading to Remilia's room, where Flandre had blown the shadow up, but when they reach the place, to Flandre's surprise the walls are clean and free of any of the black blood, and S-Remilia's limbs and head are gone.

Flandre points to the wall and says "but this was just covered in that black thing." then points to the floor and says "and her head and all her limbs were right there!"

Remilia and Patchouli look at each other, then Remilia looks back to Flandre and places her hand on her little sister's shoulder, but before she speaks, the symbol of a hand-watch glows on the back of her hand.

She whispers "Sakuya!" then rushes away toward the library as fast as she can.

-

Down at the library, knives and danmaku fly all around, all aimed at a quick black blur that keeps jumping from bookshelf to bookshelf.

Sakuya stands front and center, while Meiling stands to her right and Koakuma to her left.

Tension is high, as it's impossible for either one to figure out the shadow's next move.

Sakuya shouts "Meiling, Koakuma! Keep your guard up!"

After saying that, all three separate, as they jump away from a falling bookshelf.

Sakuya and Koakuma fall close to each other, and as soon as they get up rubbing their heads, Sakuya asks "where's Meiling!?"

Meiling stands farther away with her guard up, trying to punch and kick the shadow as it keeps assaulting her, but it's too fast and Sakuya knows it's a matter of time before she attacks, so she grabs her Luna Dial and stops time, then runs toward Meiling, and having seen the shadow's position, she readies herself to attack.

To S-Remilia, it looks like Sakuya teleports right in front of her prey, but she only smiles and says "I got you!"

Sakuya throws various knives straight at the shadow's face, sure that she would hit it directly, but the shadow had already swerved to the right and kicks Sakuya from the back of her head, sending her straight against a bookshelf, and before anyone can react in time, the shadow is already dropping the enormous bookshelf on Sakuya, pinning her down under the heavy shelf and piles of books, leaving her neck exposed.

Meiling and Koakuma run toward Sakuya, Meiling shouting "Sakuya, I'll save you!" but S-Remilia is already next to her and staring into the maid's eyes, placing Sakuya under a trance, then with a smile on her face, she looks at Meiling and Koakuma and says "stay back, or I'll rip her head off."

Meiling and Koakuma back away a few steps, then S-Remilia turns to Sakuya, and with an evil smile on her face, bearing her fangs and caressing Sakuya's neck with her claws she whispers "you will now become my first servant."

She opens her mouth wide, while Meiling whimpers Sakuya's name as she runs straight toward the Shadow, but she's too far away to get there in time, even with her speed.

There is a loud bang and a quick pink blur that strikes S-Remilia before she can bite down on Sakuya, sending her flying to the top of another bookshelf, where she stands still, smiling at Remilia.

-

Remilia takes the bookshelf and books off Sakuya, and lightly smacks her cheek, whispering "Sakuya! Wake up!"

Before Sakuya wakes up from her trance, S-Remilia laughs and says "how pathetic. And you DARE call yourself a vampire? Pathetic child!"

Remilia takes a good look at her shadow, who's hat now lies destroyed next to her feet.

She has long flowing black hair, large black wings that are red inside, she is taller than the real Remilia, has a well shaped body, and has an ample bosom.

The shadow grins and says "impressed? THIS is how a TRUE vampire looks like; not like some ageless doll with dirty hair!"

Remilia's face turns red with rage and shouts "I'll SHOW you some MANNERS!!!"

Both Remilia and her shadow engage in a high-speed battle, going against each other so fast, only Flandre, who arrives along with Patchouli, is able to keep up.

Flandre giggles and shouts "way to go onee-sama! Teach that fake who's boss!!!"

Over and over again, the two blurs crash against each other, constantly sending sparks each and very time! Finally, Remilia stops and hovers in the air, then pulls a spell card from under her hat and shouts "Critical - Heart Break"

Remilia summons a red aura that shapes into a spear and quickly tosses it toward Sakuya, striking S-Remilia, who yelps in pain and backs away against a wall.

Sakuya finally wakes up, then looks at the shadow, who has a small wound on her forehead, then back at Remilia, who glares angrily at the shadow.

S-Remilia laughs and says "is that all you got?"

The wound on her forehead completely heals in just seconds, then she tucks in her stomach, expanding her chest, then points at her own breasts and says "see this? THIS is how a REAL princess of the night should look like!"

A heavy barrage of red aura spears and knives fly straight to the shadow, who nimbly dodges each and every attack.

Remilia's face turns bright red as her blood starts boiling with rage.

She glares dangerously at the shadow, then summons one extra-large bat-shaped aura the follows S-Remilia as she dodges Sakuya's daggers.

The shadow smirks, grabs Remilia's attack, then launches it to the wall behind her, creating a hole large enough for her to escape out onto the darkening noon.

Remilia growls and says "I really hate that thing!"

She flies down to Sakuya and asks "Sakuya, why did you attack without my permission?"

Sakuya blushes and looks away from her mistress, then says "sh-she was mocking my lady!"

Remilia smirks as she stares at Sakuya's chest, then says "well then, Patchouli and I will hit her hard enough for the both of us."

Sakuya sighs, then says "this pace will be cleaned up by the time you get back"

Remilia winks and says "I expect no less."

Patchouli and Flandre look at each other, then Patchouli sighs and says "this is gonna be a long night."

Flandre smiles and says "cheer up! You'll be done before you know it!" while patting Patchouli hard on her back, making her yelp out "mukyu!" as she falls on her fact to the floor.

-

Night at the Hakurei Shrine.

Mima floats from the stairs toward the shrine, looking dreadfully exhausted.

She hears some commotion from inside the shrine, added to the smell of food headed her way.

She drools a little and says "I guess I can have a bite before bed."

She enters through the doors and sees Rika holding the tiny dog-Reimu on her lap and feeding her with a spoon, Budou holding an equally tiny dog-Ail on her lap, Sanae and Kanako full of bandages, and Suwako sitting like a frog next to the table, holding a bowl of soup on one hand and a pair of chopsticks on the other.

A bit of blood courses from Mima's nose, then the evil spirit suddenly shouts "SO~~ CUTE!!!"

Rika squeezes Reimu against her chest and hisses at Mima while shouting "MINE! All mine!".

Budou hugs Ail tightly as Phredia feeds him some soup with a spoon and says "miss Mima. Please wait until after they eat!"

Mima's head pops right off her head, but she manages to catch it as it falls back down.

Without saying another word, she sadly floats toward Suwako and sits down next to the goddess.

Suwako stares at Mima for some time, then Mima gets annoyed and asks "what!? Never seen a head pop off?"

Suwako smiles, chews on her food, then says "plenty... They just don't talk back."

Mima's face turns blue as she gasps in surprise, then asks "I'm a freak?"

Suwako quietly nods, making Mima's body run off rubbing the empty space above her shoulder while her head stays behind, crying on the floor.

-

To be continued...

Characters, scenario and spell cards belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou, Phredia, Kimi, Ayalina , and Shinki's, Sara's, Yumeko.s, Luize's and Mai & Yuki's unison spell cards were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

Major assistance by Snapshot2010 (Kimi's name by Snapshot2010)

NOV 24 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N: Finally managed to shake off that sad feeling after what I did to those two shadows. Now it's back to my favorite thing. Messing with randomness and enjoying the results. Please, don't dress your Yuki's in pink.

* * *

**

Random Sukima Interview part 5

Interviewer: Willie G.R.

Translator: Yukari Yakumo

WGR: So, now that the building is fixed, the floor rebuilt, and my bones back in their place; thank you Eirin; we can now continue the interview.

YY: I'm sorry, did you say something?

WGR: Quite... Well, mister Sukima. Could you be so kind as to tell us, what flavor did miss Renko have.

RS: )%)JV! $)%^HB D)MLEI J$*%^Kt.

YY: "Certainly! Miss Renko tasted like chilly. Didn't like her one bit."

WGR: Wow, you certainly don't hold back, do you, mister Sukima?

RS: TB#%&M!SA_ #*%$N^ &D

YY: "Why should I? Anyway, holding back just isn't my style."

WGR: Yes, I can see that. You almost cost us a building. Regardless, let's continue.

RS: **)#(

YY: "Fine. Let's continue then."

WGR: What did miss Maribel taste like?

RS: .... *)%$&^ $)GIE JW$% MMMMM~ $*V!

YY: ".... She was certainly VERY tasty. She tasted like Chocolate Chip Muffins. Mmmm~ delicious!"

WGR: Well... er, I see. Umm, thank you very much for your time, and we'll see each other next time.

I find this rather odd, but after our interview with mister Sukima, we all felt a strange urge to eat chocolate chip muffins for the rest of the day. Sadly, mister Sukima at almost all of them, while others "mysteriously" vanished, just like that. Oh well. See you next time. Take care.


	17. Chapter 16

Night at the Misty Lake.

Remilia and Patchouli fly low, heading straight to the Human Village, guessing that's where S-Remilia is headed.

Remilia shouts "FORTH, Magical Scarlet!"

Patchouli looks a little confused at Remilia and asks "Ma-Magical Scarlet? What are you talking about!?"

Remilia smirks back and says "well, we need to have a cool name for our team, don't you think?"

Patchouli pouts, and under her breath, she says "trying to compensate for something..."

Remilia glares at Patchouli and in a demanding tone she asks "what was that!?"

Patchouli smiles and says "oh, it's nothing at all."

Remilia continues to stare at Patchouli as they fly forward to the village and after some time, Remilia calms down and says "keep your guard up Patchy. That UGLY fake could be anywhere!"

Patchouli smirks again, then says "don't worry. I can sense she's still up ahead."

From the dark sky, a gold washtub falls straight on Patchouli's head, making her shout "mukyu!" and fall to the ground.

Remilia shouts "dammit, Patchy! I told you to keep your guard up!"

Following Patchouli down, Remilia finds the witch with her face buried under the ground and trying to pull herself free.

Remilia grabs her by the back of her robe and lightly pulls on her, freeing her immediately.

Patchouli asks "was... was that a washtub?"

Remilia finds the washtub and stares at it, seemingly calm.

She unleashes her claws and strikes it over and over, shredding the golden washtub into bits, then lifts to the air, contently sighing and saying "that felt good. Come on Patchy."

Patchouli finishes dusting off her hat, and as soon as she puts it back on, she lifts to the air and follows after Remilia, glancing back at the shredded washtub for a moment, then quickly turning around.

From one of the thin shreds, Agava wiggles away in her shadow form, then manages to turn back to her human from, sitting on the ground and holding her head as her eyes spin in place.

Rumia comes out of hiding from one of the trees with a smile on her face and says "I wa~rned you~!"

Agava replies "ah, shut up. All 5 of you!"

All 5 Rumias extend their arms in the air and asks "Is that so~?"

-

Meanwhile, at Makai, in the Palace of Pandemonium.

Alice finally wakes up on her old bed, in her old bedroom, and somehow, she still fits in that old bed, however, it's a little tight.

She looks around for a moment, slowly remembering everything that happened, then her stomach rumbles so loud, the sound bounces off the walls, creating a surrounding rumble all over.

Shinki enters the room along with Shanghai and Hourai and immediately smiles and says "Alice, you had me so worried."

Alice asks "mom... What happened? Is everyone alright? What happened to Yuki's shadow!?"

Shinki pats Alice on the head while Shanghai says "that shadow got what she deserved with a pow, and a pichiun, and then a bat on the face!"

Hourai adds "miss Yuki seemed very pleased with herself after that."

Alice faces Shinki and says "I'm so sorry, mom. I was useless after all."

She lowers her head and says "I'm so sorry!"

Shinki smiles and pats the back of Alice's head and says "you've been helping us non-stop since the moment we left your house. You hadn't eaten in days."

Yumeko enters with a tray full of plates, a pitcher, two teacups, some cakes, and some flowers for adornment.

Shinki says "come, eat. Yumeko and I prepared this just for you!"

Alice continues to look down to her feet as she sits next to Shinki on the edge of the bed, then Yumeko smiles and says "lady Shinki and I worked so hard on this meal for you. If you don't eat it, we'll get offended!"

Alice raises her head, looks at Yumeko, then back at Shinki, smiles, and with tears in her eyes she says "just like old times. Alright then."

Shanghai twirls in the air next to Alice and says "see Hourai, I told you miss Alice would be alright!"

Hourai crosses her arms across her chest, nods and says "yes, I do remember telling you that earlier."

Shanghai quickly flies around Hourai and says "nah-ah! You said miss Alice would never wake up!"

Alice giggles, getting the attention of the dolls, smiles at them, then says "that doesn't matter, right? The important thing is that I am ok."

Just after saying that, Alice takes a bite of the rice with red sauce, opens her eyes wide, then says "wow, this is even better than I remember!"

Shinki and Yumeko smile, then think at the same time "good, she didn't notice the volcano sauce and water."

Meanwhile, just outside the palace's gates, Yuki, wearing her usual clothes and her hair as messy as ever, sits next to a bonfire, where she has eels, potatoes and meats on sticks cooking beside the fire, while she holds another stick with many branches, all filled with marshmallows.

Marisa walks to her and casually says "ah, you changed back to your old clothes I see, ze."

Yuki nods with a most wicked smile on her face.

Marisa then says "oy, umm, I was wondering if you'd still help me with something back home."

Yuki turns to Marisa and with a smile, she says "sure thing. You helped us out a lot, so it's only natural I help you as well!"

Marisa smiles back for some time until she realizes something, then asks "and what did you do with that pink dress?"

Yuki's smiles turns twisted, her neck twists until she's facing the fire, and in a wicked undertone she says "it burns in the hottest fires of the deepest hell, right where it belongs!"

Marisa sweats and backs away from the seemingly possessed Yuki, then asks "but wait. Isn't that dress too pink for that?"

Just as she finishes her question, the bonfire suddenly bursts, pushing Yuki and Marisa to the ground as it turns pink, turning the meats, the eels and even the marshmallows and the sticks to pink.

Marisa and Yuki get up from the floor and watch the pink fire turning everything near it to pink.

Yuki covers her eyes as she cries waterfalls and runs back into the palace, crying "pink, pink PI~NK! It's just too PI~NK!!!"

Marisa smirks, grabs one of the eels, takes a bite, then says "heh, that girl's gonna be traumatized from a while, ze. Ooh, this is really good... Tastes sweet."

-

Back at Gensokyo, Remilia stops abruptly just outside the Human Village.

She signals Patchouli to stop, then both look around, searching for an unsettling slurping sound.

Remilia gasps and whispers "Patchouli, bubble-shield, now!"

Patchouli whispers "Water Sign - Jellyfish Princess" and surrounds herself with a watery bubble, then Follows Remilia as she descends.

On a tree right in front of them, S-Remilia smacks her blood-covered lips and sighs with satisfaction as she lets go of the dried up body of one of the villagers, letting it hit the ground with a loud thud.

Remilia glares back at her shadow as she cleans the blood off her face with her forearm and says "ahh, that was satisfying... but I'm still a little thirsty."

Remilia stares at the villager's corpse, then growls and says "how DARE you brake the pact with Reimu!"

Angrily, S-Remilia shouts back "I made NO PACT with no stinking human!"

Remilia shouts back "you are a COPY OF ME! You are BOUND by the pact I made that night."

Remilia stretches her wings, bares her claws, and like a flash, she cuts the tree in which S-Remilia is on, takes the villager's corpse away from the falling tree, then fires a scarlet aura bat toward the air, striking S-Remilia as she tries to attack Patchouli.

S-Remilia yelps as she is blown back and to the ground by Remilia's simple attack.

Remilia smirks and says "it takes more than a sexy BODY to make a true princess of the night!"

Panting, S-Remilia stands up with her face blazing red with rage, breathing heavily and trying to keep herself calm.

Remilia snickers and says "what's the matter? Scared of the real Remilia? That's so good to know."

S-Remilia calms down and flips her long black hair away from her face, saying "humph! I just need a little more sustenance."

She smiles, points at her breasts again, and says "besides, I still got THESE you little brat! You can only DREAM of a body like this!"

Remilia fires small red aura bats, red daggers, dirt, rocks, and one large boulder straight at S-Remilia, who laughs as she flies away to the village, avoiding being hit and making Remilia even madder as she shouts "come back here and say that to my FACE, you hot and sexy..."

Remilia stops talking for a moment, then realizes what she is saying.

Her face turns red, her eyes burn with fire, and she grabs her hat, rips it in half, then shouts "Patchouli, let's GET that thing, NOW!"

Remilia flies ahead as fast as she can, while Patchouli covers her mouth in order to avoid being heard as she laughs at Remilia as she follows.

From behind them, hiding behind the trees, Parsee watches as her eyes glow green.

She bites down on her thumb's finger-nail and says "so much JEALOUSY! What a treat! I can't let this pass!" then follows after Remilia and Patchouli, as quietly as she can.

-

At the village, Maribel and Renko sit on their living room, each reading a book on magic, enjoying some snacks and tea, when a sudden cry for help unsettles them, ruining their peaceful moment.

Maribel looks at Renko and says "that was mister Kirochi!"

Renko nods and quickly gets up before Maribel and says "let's investigate!"

They quietly leave the house, Renko holding on to an oil lamp as they cautiously looking around for any signs of danger.

A loud thud to their right gets their attention and Renko points her oil lamp straight toward the source to find a dried up body lying on the ground.

Maribel and Renko shriek at the sight.

Maribel softly asks "mi-mister Kirochi?"

They get no reply, and Maribel starts hyperventilating, trying to hold herself from crying, but Renko points her lamp just above them and spots S-Remilia, who hisses at them, showing them her blood-covered mouth and fangs.

Maribel asks in a demanding tone "YOU~! Did you kill that poor man!?"

S-Remilia cackles and says "oh, will you look at that. Little humans demanding ME to speak!"

She hisses at them, bearing claws and fangs and shouts "you can both go to hell!" then swoops down on them, making Maribel and Renko jump out of the way just in time.

Renko gets a cut from one of the shadow's claws, and Maribel immediately worried, but Renko tells her "it's just a scratch, Mary!"

Maribel grabs Renko, and in an intuition impulse, she pulls herself and Renko away, just as S-Remilia swoops down again, miraculously missing them.

They land on their backs on the ground and Maribel shouts "Renko, use magic!"

At first, Renko looks around, feeling confused and her mind in a blank, but she closes her eyes and almost immediately she is surrounded by 8 sharp stakes made of rocks, tree roots and earth.

3 of those stakes fly straight toward the shadow vampire, who confidently hovers in the air with a smug smile on her face and spreading her arms, welcoming the attack.

One of the stakes flies just above her head, while another goes just underneath her feet.

She starts to laugh as the third stake passes right through her wing, but the moment it does, she stops laughing and stares silently at the two girls as they stand up from the ground, Renko immediately grabbing her lantern and pointing it at the shadow.

S-Remilia grabs hold of her wing and falls to the ground, blowing at it and constantly patting it.

Even though there's no fire, steam flows from the hole made by that third stake, the hole expanding as well.

Maribel says "look! Your stake harmed it!"

Renko looks at the stakes floating all around her with awe, then fires tree more straight at the shadow's head.

S-Remilia opens her eye wide and hisses again, spitting blood as she does, then says "more... I need more!" then flies away in time to avoid the stakes.

Maribel exclaims "we have to stop her! She's going to kill more people!"

Renko says "first, let's get Kyo and Luna to help, and then...!"

Remilia and Patchouli fly by, Remilia shouting "come BACK here you FAKE!"

Maribel and Renko look at each other, then immediately run on the ground, chasing after Remilia and Patchouli.

Closely behind is Parsee, giggling and saying "so much jealousy~! This is GOOD!"

-

It's close to midnight now, and Patchouli and Remilia arrive at Keine's school, following S-Remilia all through the village. Remilia points to the school and says "that useless history teacher lives there. She could help us."

Patchouli nods, then says "seems my apprentice and her friend are also following us."

Remilia casually says "let them. They could prove useful."

Patchouli smiles casually, then follows as Remilia swoops down and enters the school as soon as she lands on the ground.

Maribel and Renko arrive just as Patchouli enters the building, glancing at Renko just before she goes in.

Renko says "come on, Mary. They want us to follow."

Maribel asks "how do you know?"

Renko smiles as she looks at Maribel and says "let's just go."

As they enter the school, Parsee peeks inside through one of the windows and says "whoa... that teacher's got issues."

Inside the building, Maribel and Renko dodge a red laser that flies just past them.

Inside, Remilia and Patchouli duck on the floor, covering themselves with whatever they can.

Remilia shouts "you two get out of here! She's under the shadow's spell!"

Maribel and Renko drop to the ground the moment the lasers go through the walls and almost strike them.

Renko shouts "Mary! You've dealt with this before! It's Pseudo-History The Legend of Gensokyo, right?"

Maribel nods and says "but last time it wasn't THIS intense!"

Renko shouts "you know what your powers do to her. GO!"

Maribel looks back at Renko with a serious expression, then nods and gets up.

Immediately she is grazed by red lasers and petals, but manages to keep on her feet.

She positions herself between the lasers and petals, raises her right arm and rapidly fires pink and red heart-shaped bullets straight at Keine.

The history teacher turns her attention to Maribel the moment the first heart hits her, and Maribel sees her eyes glowing red and an expression of anger fills the normally peaceful teacher.

Maribel shakes off the sudden shock and continues to fire her hearts, now dodging as best as she can, since Keine is firing quicker and is changing her pattern, although only slightly.

Patchouli raises her head and shouts "shoot her in the forehead!"

Maribel nods while still facing Keine and concentrates her fire on Keine's head.

Finally, after the first set of hearts hit, Keine starts acting funny, her eyes closing shut and her body starts wobbling.

Soon after, Keine's spell cancels out and the history teacher falls on the floor with a smile on her face, her right thumb in her mouth and whispering "peach" then giggles.

-

Quietly, Remilia, Patchouli, Renko and Maribel walk outside, quietly closing the door behind them.

Remilia looks to the stars and says "this is dangerous. She can hypnotize others to do her bidding. Somehow... that really irritates me."

From beside the school wall, Parsee's eyes glow green as she stares at Remilia with a smile on her face.

Patchouli walks to Renko and asks "may I see those two stakes you're carrying?"

Renko, looking a little surprised, pulls the rocky stakes.

Patchouli grabs one, smiles and says "not bad at all. You are getting better at this."

Renko blushes and says "thanks. I-I've been practicing."

Remilia shouts "everyone get ready!"

Upon looking around they realize they are now surrounded by hypnotized male villagers with glowing red eyes.

Renko shouts "sorry guys, not interested!"

Maribel whispers to Renko "I don't think they are looking for a date."

Just above them, holding an unconscious girl with short curvy black hair, S-Remilia cackles and says "and now I recover my full strength!"

She violently bites down hard on the girl's neck, spilling some blood all around her, as well as making a mess around her mouth.

Maribel cries "no~!"

Renko shouts "that's Mirida!"

Maribel gasps in horror and fires various pink hearts straight at the shadow, but all her attacks seem to go right through her.

Remilia, looking angry and ready to strike, her eyes and lips trembling, looks at Maribel and says "it's too late. She's gone."

Mirida's body prunes and dries up, then S-Remilia take a content deep breath as the veins in her body and her eyes glow bright orange.

She lets go of the body as she slowly turns to face Maribel with a smile on her face, then says "if you want to be next, you should just ask, little girl!"

S-Remilia flies straight to Maribel. Renko calls for Maribel and grabs one of her stakes and throws it to the shadow, missing miserably.

The shadow looks like a blur now, but Remilia intercepts the shadow just as she reaches Maribel, glaring straight into the shadows eyes with rage building up inside her.

Remilia looks back at Patchouli for a second and shouts "SOLAR FLARE!!!", then both vampires start moving so fast, they look like blurs in the night skies.

Patchouli opens a book with a spell card in it and starts chanting.

Maribel kneels on the ground, looking at Mirida's body and letting tears escape her eyes.

Renko kneels in front of Maribel and grabs her shoulders, shaking her lightly and saying "Mary, now is not the time! We have to protect Patchouli while she casts her spell!"

Maribel looks away, letting out a small whimper, then Renko shakes her a little more violently and shouts "Mary! Come on, I need your help!"

Maribel snaps out of her trance, looks at Renko in the eyes and asks "what should we do?"

Renko smiles and says "let's use what Reimu taught us."

Maribel smiles and gets up alongside Renko, both staring at the hypnotized villagers, ready to attack.

-

Parsee continues to hide behind the school, staring at Remilia and S-Remilia as they battle, smiling widely as her eyes glow intensely and saying "I-I've never felt this much jealousy coming from one single entity before. It's just so amazing!"

Remilia and S-Remilia match each others moves perfectly, to the point that Remilia thinks "this... is impossible! How can she be as fast as me. I am the strongest and fastest being in this world! How DARE she mock me. I will make her pay for this!"

Suddenly, Remilia notices S-Remilia's chest bouncing around with each strike.

Remilia's face turns red, then she shouts "DIE you cheap mockery of a vampire!"

S-Remilia notices Remilia's jealousy and with a naughty tone of voice, while matching Remilia's attacks she says "oh, I see. You are jealous of my perfection and my well-shaped body, aren't you? Don't worry. I'm sure there's some sick bastard out there who'd want someone that looks like such a brat like yourself!"

Remilia's eyes glow green for a second as she growls and grabs S-Remilia's wings, and in a second, she pulls them both off, making the shadow vampire scream in pain and falling straight to the ground.

S-Remilia stands up, her face twisted as the pain from her broken wings courses through her.

She looks around and sees Renko and Maribel beating up her hypnotized men with martial arts, Parsee with her glowing green eyes up in the roof staring at Remilia, and Patchouli chanting as a sun-like light generates itself right in front of her book.

S-Remilia manages to suppress the pain and says "oh~ boys~! That witch is trying to burn me. Be good little servants and do something about it."

Renko and Maribel stop for a moment to stare at the shadow, but that single moment is enough for the hypnotized men to grab their arms and throw them away, then they all walk slowly to Patchouli.

Remilia shouts "Patchy, get OUT of there!" then flies straight to her, but S-Remilia manages to jump high enough to kick Remilia straight to Parsee, knocking the jealousy youkai off the roof and Remilia back inside the school through the roof.

Patchouli loses her concentration, ending her spell-casting, then looks around herself to realize she is completely surrounded by the hypnotized men.

She starts to hyperventilate as she looks around, feeling trapped.

Flashes of her calling for help as she's surrounded by many villagers fly by her mind, making her tremble violently and crouch on the ground, holding her book on her head, hoping it'll protect her, clenching her eyes shut.

After some time she realizes nothing happens, so she slightly opens her right eye, then sees a flower right in front of her.

All the males have gifts and flowers, all pointed at her, then one of them says in a zombified voice "marry me~!"

Another says "no~, marry me~!"

Another shouts "for~get them~! Marry me instea~d!"

Patchouli looks around again, blushing beet red, as some of the men start fighting over her.

She tries to calm them down saying "wait, no.... you don't understand, I don't want any- Wait, no, stop!"

-

Maribel and Renko feel a little reluctant to approach the zombie lovers and save Patchouli, but Renko looks to Maribel, who looks back with a determined look, then both nod at the same time.

They run to the crowd and grab one of the men, then Patchouli shouts "no, it's ok! They won't harm me! Go help Remilia! She's inside the school!"

Renko asks "are you sure!?"

Patchouli shouts "GO! I'll be fine!"

Renko looks back at Maribel, then both shrug and head straight to the school.

Patchouli says "alright boys. Let me cast this rain spell, alright? EHH?"

The men lift her up, shaping their arms as if they were chairs and armrests.

Patchouli smiles and says "well, this should make it easier."

From her left, a teacup reaches her hand just as she flips the page on her book and says "ah, here it is." then starts chanting.

Inside the school, Remilia and S-Remilia lock hands and push against each other, clenching their teeth and glaring at each other straight in the eyes.

Maribel asks "Renko, what should we do?"

Renko grabs her last stake and says "we have to finish this now, before that other vampire escapes!"

Renko tries to enter the classroom where the vampires fight, but a sudden release of energy from both vampires sends her back to the guest room.

Maribel checks on Renko and asks "are you ok?"

Renko rubs her head and asks "what was that!?"

Outside, a sudden downpour traps the shadow vampire inside the school, and rain is falling into the classroom from the hole on the roof made by Remilia's body.

Remilia smiles and says "I have to remember to thank Patchy later!"

S-Remilia looks out the window and notices all her hypnotized men holding Patchouli on a man-made throne, while others hold umbrellas above her head.

Patchouli smiles and waves back at the shadow, who growls and says "I'm gonna kill that witch after I'm done with you!"

Remilia smirks and says "first you have to try and defeat me, you faker!"

Remilia lifts S-Remilia by her hands, surprising the shadow as she is unable to break free at all, then Remilia throws her straight to where the rain is entering through.

The moment the water touches her skin, S-Remilia feels as if acid is eating through her skin.

Remilia holds her in place, smiling and saying "a weakling like you doesn't deserve to claim to be a princess of the night. BOW to your princess, you FAKE!"

Remilia pushes hard against the shadow, forcing her to bow down as the water from the rain melts her body, but S-Remilia smirks and says "you will never be my princess!"

She summons an unusual amount of energy and blasts Remilia with a black aura spell at point-blank range, sending half of her flying back against a wall.

She stands under the rain, and even though the water still burns her, her skin recomposes itself, healing faster than the rain can melt her.

She cackles and expands her arms, her wings slowly growing back as she shouts "watch as I become the one and only TRUE princess of the night!"

S-Remilia's face freezes as it is, smiling wickedly, taking the water head on as Remilia manages to stand up, even though she is missing half of her torso, and stares back at the shadow.

Remilia's frown quickly turns to a smile and says "see, something like that would NEVER have happened to me!"

S-Remilia screams as Renko's stake pushes right through her her chest.

She looks behind her with horror-struck eyes and sees Renko behind her, then says "you-you wicked little hu-human!"

She tries to strike Renko with her claws, but does so with no strength on her and only manages to tap Renko on her shoulder.

Soon after, her body shatters and turns to black sand that gets washed away as the water continues to pour down from the skies.

-

Outside the school, Patchouli looks down at the men and says "look, it's not that I don't appreciate your help, but really, I'm not interested. Put me down already."

The men stare at her for a moment, then turn their attention to the tip of the school's roof, where Shou Toramaru lands and shouts "lady Hijiri~! Where are you!?"

She slumps and says "oh, ever since she teamed up with Minamitsu, she doesn't even say hi to me anymore! That's not FAIR!"

She twirls in place and shouts "I will NOT allow this! I will find them and JOIN them, even if they don't want me to!"

Without realizing it, her skirt gets caught on a small roof ornament and gets ripped off, exposing her underwear for all to see.

The men drop Patchouli to to the ground and all but a few get nosebleeds.

By now, Shou notices her skirt is off and on the roof.

She blushes and quickly grabs the skirt and tries to put it back on, then says "eep! Toramaru, you fool! You need to be more careful!"

The men talk to each other and asks "did she say Toramaru?"

"That's what she said."

"Yes, I heard her call herself Toramaru."

Patchouli gets up from the ground, angrily asking "oww, what was that fo-"

All men, at the same time exclaim "TORAMARU~~! Tora!!! Tora-chan~! Tora-Tora~!"

Shou notices the men and still blushing and sweating she shouts "wait, no! Look away, LOOK AWAY!!"

The men continue to stare, pulling flowers and gift boxes out of nowhere, then start walking toward her.

Shou cries "GET AWAY FROM ME~! WAAAHHH! Please save me Hijiri~!" then quickly flies to the temple, the men running after her.

Patchouli stands in place with her eyes cast in shadow and her mouth slightly open in the shape of a small triangle as she says "mukyu~! She's not even CLOSE to my level!"

From behind some bushes, Parsee gets up from the ground, rubbing her head and crying "ow~ What happened to me... oh?"

She stares at Patchouli and snickers as she says "ooh~ I sense even more jealousy~!"

-

The doors of the school burst open, startling everyone and causing the village men to stop on their tracks.

Furiously, Maribel shouts "this ISN'T the time for stupidity! We have two dead people here. HAVE SOME SHAME!!!"

Remilia looks casually away from Maribel and says "make that three... She got someone else. I left the body just outside the village."

The men look to the girl's corpse and one shouts "that's Mirida!"

Another exclaims "the shoemaker's daughter!?"

Renko then says "close to our house you'll find the body of Mr. Kirochi"

One of the men asks "the baker?"

Patchouli joins Remilia and the others, just as Keine comes out from the school holding her head and asking "whe-where did you leave the other?"

Patchouli calmly says "just outside the village, to the east."

Keine, holding back her tears and rage as her face slowly turns red, says "p-please inform miss Reimu. All 4 of you. I-"

A tear escapes Keine as she says "I'll take care of this *sob*"

Maribel places her hand on Keine's shoulder and says "please, miss Keine. Don't blame yourself. She caught you off-guard. There was nothing-"

Keine sniffles and wipes the tears off her cheek and says "I should have been able to sense her. Now go! Tell Reimu!"

She pushes Maribel's hand away, then flies away to the east.

Maribel turns to face Remilia and gets shocked when she realizes Remilia's torso is completely restored, and she's using her wing to cover herself up as Patchouli places her robe on her.

Remilia says "thanks Patchy. Don't look so surprised, girl. I'm a vampire after all."

Patchouli smiles and says "let's just go and tell Reimu."

Renko pats Maribel's shoulder and says "come on, Mary. The night's not over yet."

Maribel nods and sighs, then gasps and says "wait! We should get Luna and Kyo too!"

Patchouli and Remilia look at each other and at the same time ask "what for?"

Before Maribel answers, Kyo's voice from a few feet away asks "yes. What for, huh?"

Kyo, Luna and Medicine stand in front of them, Kyo carrying the baker's body wrapped in a white sheet, staring back at the four girls, expecting an explanation.

-

While flying to the shrine, Remilia explains everything to everyone.

Kyo, who is carrying Renko on his arms, looks back at Remilia and asks "well, couldn't you have killed it BEFORE it got dark?"

Renko strikes Kyo on the head and angrily says "if she COULD she WOULD have, you insensitive jerk!"

Kyo asks "you wanna fall down?"

Patchouli adds "Renko, I told you to ALWAYS carry at least one of your charmed items."

Renko replies "well forgive me for not... oh wait, I still got that other thing."

She drops from Kyo's hands and flies along-side Maribel and smiles.

Kyo looks annoyed and says "that's the last time I carry them around."

Luna smiles dangerously as she gets closer to Kyo and asks "were you saying something?" then throws herself at him, making him carry her all the way to the shrine after he replies "n-no... it's nothing!"

-

Arriving at the shrine, Renko looks to the skies at the stars and says "Reimu's gonna get mad at us. It's 3 in the morning."

Remilia hides her eyes under a shadow as she seriously says "this is important. She'll understand."

Remilia quickly walks to the shrine's entrance, and when Patchouli follows, she says "no! Let me do this. It's... my responsibility."

Remilia walks straight to the doors and without thinking for another second, she bangs hard on the door and calls "Reimu~! Reimu, wake up! This is important! Reimu Hakurei!"

From inside, Rika's sleepy voice says "*yawn* coming... I'm coming."

Rika slowly opens her door, revealing a bear design sleeping dress.

She rubs her eyes and asks "y-yes, what is it?"

She looks down and wakes up as she exclaims "miss Remilia!"

She looks around and sees Kyo, Renko, Maribel and Medicine looking back at her, and Patchouli and Luna looking at the stars, lost in thought.

Rika asks "whoa... what happened?"

Remilia says in a demanding tone "I need to see Reimu, now!"

Rika, sounding a bit confused, says "we-what? Umm, look, miss Reimu can't see you now, miss Remilia. You'll have to come ba-"

Remilia pushes Rika away and shouts "Reimu! I need to speak to you!"

Rika gets mad, and again gets in Remilia's way, just before she opens Reimu's room door and says "look, I told you, miss Reimu can't see you right now!"

From besides the table, Budou gets up from the ground along with Phredia, both rubbing their eyes and Budou asking "wh-what is it... is it morning?"

From beside her, in a squeaky voice, dog-Ail says "it's alright Budou, Phredia. Go back to sleep."

Budou yawns again, then quickly falls asleep while Phredia encases herself and Budou inside a sound-proof barrier.

Dog-Ail reveals himself and says "Rika... I think you better get Reimu. Remilia... calm down. She'll go get Reimu."

Remilia stares back at Ail, then her eyes expand widely along with her mouth, then she asks "you're... a dog again?"

From outside, Kyo can be heard laughing hard and saying "no way! He's a dog again!?"

Luna asks "again? He's been a dog before?"

Patchouli smiles and says "he does look better as a dog."

Renko just sweats and Medicine stares quietly.

Maribel squeals and says "wow, you look so cute!" then rushes to Ail and grabs him, giving him a big hug, making him puff his cheeks and expel some air, saying "here we go again!"

From Reimu's room, a squeaky high-pitched voice says "it HAS to be serious if you even though you had to come here, and at these hours, no less!"

Remilia flinches and slowly turns her trembling head to see Reimu, only a foot tall, big black eyes, a pair of ears and a tail on her.

Remilia trembles, her eyes expanding even more, then asks "like him? A dog, just like him?"

Dog-Reimu sighs and says "Ail was right, this is going to be hell."

From Reimu's room comes Suika, sleepily saying "could someone shut that hyena up?"

Rika asks "hyena?"

Outside, Kyo laughs so hard, he's rolling on the ground and crying as he rolls around, shouting "hahahaha, dogs! The-they're dogs! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Dogs, oh my~! HAHAHAHA I'm gonna have FUN here!"

-

Inside the shrine, after Luna forcefully calms Kyo down with a punch to the head, Remilia bows her head as she kneels in front of dog-Reimu and says "Reimu, I failed you. My shadow... she... she killed three villagers and there was nothing I could do about it!"

Reimu gasps, then asks "Remilia, this isn't funny! 3 villagers? Are you positive!?"

Maribel cries "she killed Mr. Kirochi, the baker, and miss Mirida!"

Ail gasps and asks "Mi-Mirida? that crazy girl that made that weird swimsuit contest?"

Maribel bawls "she was preparing antohe~r!!!"

Reimu sighs and says "this is terrible, and at the worst possible time!"

Reimu notices Remilia looking down to the ground and clenching her own skirt through Patchouli's robe, then says "Remilia, relax. You may be powerful, but you too have limits. You did all you could, I have no doubts about that."

Remilia raises her sight to meet Reimu's, even though if it's just a foot from the ground, then says "I will not allow this to happen again, Reimu. I promise."

Reimu looks up to Remilia and says "you better go home and rest now. Rika, Suika, come with me. I need to teach you two something."

Suika takes a drink from her gourd and says "right away."

Rika nods and says "as you wish, my lady!"

Quickly, Reimu retreats to her room, promptly followed by Rika and Suika, then closes the door.

Remilia stares at the door for a moment, gets up from the floor and says "Patchouli... let's go home."

Patchouli sits next to the sleeping Budou and Maribel, and constantly pats Ail on the ear, then turns to her mistress and says "alright, my lady."

She pats Ail's ear one last time and says "you should make the change permanent." then flies away after Remilia.

Kyo swings a bone in front of Ail, smiling widely as he does, making Ail's eyes spin as if in a trance and follow the bone with his sight.

Medicine says "leave the dog-man alone."

Kyo jokingly says "Patchouli is right, you SHOULD make the change permanent. You look a whole lot move cuddly and wuvable, you wittle puppy!"

Without realizing it, Kyo no longer has the bone in his hands.

He looks around for a bit until Luna pokes him on the shoulder, then points outside.

Ail grabbed the bone and is now running on all four legs to the back of the shrine, quickly digs a hole, places the bone in it, covers it up, then curls himself on top of the mound of dirt, yawns and falls asleep.

Luna says "that's so cute!"

Medicine adds "we should take him home!"

Kyo can't hold on and starts laughing again as hard as he can, but Luna punches him in the gut, then points at Maribel and Renko.

Both have fallen asleep, sitting next to Budou.

Kyo whispers "oh... heh, better get dog-boy in here, then head back home ourselves."

Luna kisses Kyo on the cheek and says "you can have good ideas from time to time."

-

Morning at the Misty Lake.

Cirno and Daiyousei fly around the lake, Cirno boasting about being such a genius and about begin the strongest, as always, and Daiyousei agreeing, but also helping Cirno see a few flaws in the day's plan.

From the bushes, S-Ail watches, thinking "I am so damned hungry! I can't even concentrate on avenging you, my love! Those two... they look tasty, darling. I'll feast on them, and when I'm finally satisfied, I'll go and avenge you without fail!"

He stands up, revealing himself from behind the bushes, then shouts "I will have my revenge on that blasted maiden and her stupid-looking boyfriend!"

From behind him a thunderous woman voice says "maiden, huh?"

It happens so fast, S-Ail doesn't even see what happens.

Kimi, in her dragon from, rushes to him with her mouth wide open, then rapidly chomps down on him and chews on him quite contently.

She smacks her lips and some black clouds seep from inside her mouth.

She gulps and says "a shadow..."

She turns back into her human form and says "not just any shadow. This guy had merged with another."

She pats her abdomen and says "well, thanks to him, I got even more power. Not a bad taste either."

She notices the two fairies shaking as they stare at her, down by the lake.

She smirks and asks "what? You want to be dessert or something?"

Both fairies shake their heads rapidly, then fly away as fast as they can, Cirno saying "sh-she's lucky I'm not in the mood to fight!"

From behind, Meiling shouts "YOU!! What are you doing back here!? You should be dead!"

Kimi stares back at Meiling, then looks at herself and says "we look too much alike!"

She grabs the front of her dress and rips half of it off, leaving the back-side as long as it was before, and the front covering down to half her thighs.

She grabs the empty star from her beret and places it to the left, then opens up her vest.

She looks at Meiling a little bit and says "wait..."

She grabs her undergarments and rips them off to thigh-length and sighs as she says "yeah, much better."

Meiling stares at her as she says "now I feel much better."

Meiling asks "you don't want to kill me anymore?"

Kimi answers "I promised I wouldn't... besides, who would want a boring life like yours. I rather be free!"

Meiling sweats but says nothing.

Kimi waves at her and says "see you later red-head!"

Meiling shouts "hey! You have red hair too!"

Kimi answers "oy~ My hair is light orange... not flaming scarlet like yours. Plus, I'm much better than you in many ways, little red-head."

Kimi widens her eyes, letting Meiling see into her eyes.

Her right eye looks the same as last time. Red with a black lizard-like pupil.

Her left eye, however, now looks black with a red round pupil that looks like it's surrounded by white flames, yet still keeping the lizard-like properties in the center.

Meiling gasps and Kimi smiles and says "word of advice. Keep away from me, and I won't harm you. Got that?"

Meiling stands staring back at Kimi, her shadow, as she walks away farther into the lake, getting inside the water and sinking under at as she does.

-

Meanwhile, at Entei, Eirin quietly arrives and is immediately greeted by Tewi, who shouts "you're finally back! Did you find the Udonge!?"

Eirin stares back at Tewi, but doesn't reply or acknowledge anything.

From inside, Kaguya smiles and says "Eirin, finally. I was getting worried. I though you forgot your way back."

Again, Eirin doesn't respond. She just smiles and waves at Kaguya, then heads inside, walking straight to her room.

Kaguya and Tewi look at each other, then Tewi asks "maybe she's depressed?"

Kaguya stares to Eirin's room for a moment, then says "well, maybe old age finally caught up to her. She might be needing rest."

Inside her Room, Eirin stares into the mirror, steady and unblinking.

She grabs her long hair and unties the ribbon at the bottom, then stares into the mirror again.

She grabs a pair of scissors from one of the drawers on the desk and immediately she cuts off a massive chunk of her hair, leaving it shoulder-length.

She smiles as she looks back at the mirror, then, after kicking away the long chunk of hair, she goes to her bed and immediately falls asleep.

At the Hakurei Shrine, many villagers have gathered carrying three caskets with them.

Some cry, while others curse the vampires.

Other complain the moment Rika and Suika, both wearing Reimu's clothes, come out the shrine instead of Reimu.

Rika signals the villagers to calm down and says "I'm sorry, but due to some circumstances, miss Reimu won't be able to perform the ceremony. Please, understand."

One of the male villagers asks "is she ill?"

Suika says "you could say that."

An elderly woman says "don't worry. Suika will do a splendid job, as always."

Rika and Suika look at each other, then Suika says "what? An oni can be a shrine maiden too."

From the skies, a silver washtub with star designs on it falls right on top of Suika's head, but gets caught in her horns, saving her from a full impact.

Rika and the villagers all stare with awe and surprise, then Suika says "ah, it seems it's going to rain today..."

-

To be continued...

Characters, scenario and spell cards belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou, Phredia, Kyo, Luna, Agava and Kimi were created by Willie G.R

Rika was created by Snapshot 2010

Some assistance by Snapshot 2010

NOV 30 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter took longer than I thought. Between the cleaning, the celebrations (Thanksgiving stuff) and new games, somehow my muse got distracted.... Maybe I needed the rest? Ah well, me and my muse are back, so it's ok. Before the interview, I'm going to add Kimi Hong's profile, so you can get a better idea on how she looks like.**

**

* * *

**Kimi Hong {Snapshot helped with naming} (Shadow Meiling)

Kimi: Has the meaning of Honor, power and "She Who Is Without Equal"

Meiling's shadow; born from Meiling being eaten twice by the Random Sukima. She is strong on her own, but after eating shadow Ail and combining his power, shadow Reimu's power, and her own, she becomes a force to be feared, but not so powerful that she's beyond fear of Reimu's Fantasy Heaven. Her current name was given by Reimu after removing a cursed dagger from her left eye and healing it as well. Unlike Meiling, she is aggressive, and will attack anyone using her full power. Although she learns to eat fruits and vegetables, she will occasionally have meats from rabbits, or humans that stray from the village at night, as well as other youkai. Due to Reimu's kindness, she respects Reimu above all else, and has pledged her life to the maiden, however, she still wishes to create a place for herself and being so aggressive, she will use any means, and will use others to try and reach her wicked goals, including the revival of the Scarlet Lake. If Reimu even suspects of her doing something, she will stop the operation and move on to the next plan. Although only kind to Reimu, she will not eat/kill anyone or anything that Reimu considers friend.

Her hair is light-orange, and she wears a green beret similar to Meiling's, but the star is to the left of her head and has nothing written on it. Her vest is open all the time, and she rips off half of the front of her dress, along with a large portion of her underpants to thigh length. Before Reimu's help, her eyes were lizard-like red with black pupils. After Reimu's help, her left eye is black with a red round pupil that looks as though it is surrounded by white flames, and in the center of the pupil it keeps it's lizard-like properties. Note that through her left eye, she can see body-heat during the nights.

* * *

Random Sukima Interview part 5

Interviewer: Willie G.R.

Translator: Yukari Yakumo

WGR: Welcome back everyone, to our Random Sukima Interview. Today, we'll go straight to the questions, since lady Yukari isn't feeling so well.

YY: I'm just a little sleepy, dear.

WGR: Hmm... Well, mister Sukima. You ready?

RS: *%)#_NU #)RF

YY: "As ready as ever. Fire away."

WGR: Tell us, what did miss Yuka taste like?

RS: ... ($(!$GUE*(% $* **$!!#$($ DHJJJ E#

YY "... well, there was no surprise there. She tasted like dried sunflower petals."

WRG: Hmm... Somehow I'm not surprised at all. Oh, and could you tell us how was miss Yuyuko?

RS: C(%#*! $(%&#M GIR VRUJ$)%) $^&GN!

YY: HAHAHA She would' wouldn't she?

WGR: Wh-what? What is it?

YY: He says "Certainly! She tasted just like strawberry bubblegum. Surprising enough, her texture was that of a piece of gum too!"

WGR: *Glint in eyes* You don't say. Well, that's all the time we have for today. Please join us next time, as we continue our interview with mister Random Sukima. Take care everyone.

Man 1: And we're done! Great job all of you!

WGR: Yeah, yeah. Err, mister Sukima, now that we're off the air... care to explain how can a ghost have bubblegum-like texture?

RS: EH!?

YY: Fu fu fu! Why the sudden interest?

WGR: Wait... what the HELL!? We're still on? DAMMIT TURN THAT THINK O--!


	18. Chapter 17

Morning at Byakuren's temple.

Shou comes out of her room looking dreadfully tired.

Her eyes look dark, puffy and red, her hair is unkempt, and her usual smile is replaced by a tired and angry expression.

She somberly walks to the altar to pray, as she always has, and where Nazrin happens to be at the moment.

Without saying a word, Shou drops to her knees on a cushion and somberly stares around.

Nazrin gets closer with a smile on her face and says "good morning, miss Shou how are you to- WHOA!!!"

The moment Nazrin lays eyes on Shou, she jumps back, shrieking with surprise.

Concerned, Nazrin asks "Shou, whats wrong with you!? You look terrible! A-are you sick?"

For a moment, Shou stares somberly back at Nazrin, then lightly lifts her shoulders, seemingly shrugging.

Nazrin gets closer and pats Shou on the head, gently saying "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scream in your face like that. It's just that, I've never seen you like this."

Shou replies "uhh... Yeah... well..."

Shou's eyes start to close as Nazrin says "was that even a sentence? Well, anyway, lady Hijiri wanted me to tell you that they haven't found her shadow yet, but she's getting tired, so she might come back so that she and the captain can take a rest."

Shou springs to her feet, roaring and flexing her arms, stomps hard on the ground, and stares at Nazrin with angry white eyes.

She grabs the mouse by her shoulders and says "WHAAAAAAT!!? When did you find out about this!? Where is Byakuren and that Minamitsu!?"

Nazrin lets Shou hold her in the air like that, letting her limbs and tail hang limp in the air.

She turns her face away and softly says "geez, what a recovery."

Shou drops Nazrin, who falls kneeling on the ground as if it was nothing, then says "hahahaha, this is PERFECT! When they come back, I'll impress miss Byakuren and show her what a mistake she made! Shou Toramaru is a much better choice!"

Nazrin lies on her stomach as she rest her elbow on the floor and her head on her hand, staring at Shou with a naughty face while swaying her tail around and saying "wow, you're really jealous, aren't you?"

Shou screams "I'M NOT JEALOUS!"

A green washtub falls from the ceiling and falls right on Shou's head.

Shou stands like a statue for a moment while Nazrin gets up and stares back with concern.

Nazrin waves her hand in front of Shou's face and asks "hey~. Shou~! Are you ok? Shou~?"

Shou composes herself and crosses her arms in front of her chest and puttinger her hands under her sleeves.

She kneels back down on the cushion and calmly says "that kinda hurt." then falls unconscious on the floor, still holding her arms crossed under her sleeves and her legs in the kneeled position.

Nazrin raises her arm in the air to help Shou out, but stops and says "no, I think I better let her rest."

A mouse comes and climbs up to her shoulder with a large piece of cheese.

She grabs it and gives the mouse a small piece, taking a large bite of the chunk herself and with her mouth full she says "maybe I should help them find that shadow.... *smacks lips* Nah."

From outside the temple, watching through a window, Parsee Mizuhashi chuckles, holding her hand to her mouth as she says "boy, with this much jealousy, I could become as powerful as that shrine maiden in a matter of days!"

From behind her, Yuugi stands staring at her quietly, then suddenly asks "what 'cha doing?"

Parsee's hair and clothes stand stiff as she clenches her teeth and opens her eyes wide in surprise shouting a pathetic "meep!"

-

Meanwhile, at the Hakurei Shrine, Mima sneaks around the backyard, aiming to reach the shrine undetected.

Her goal is to grab, hug and snuggle the dogs Ail and Reimu.

Budou, Phredia, Ran and Chen play in the hot springs, even though it's summer.

Mima knows this is her only chance, as Rika and Suika still haven't returned from the funeral.

She clenches her fists and whispers "no fear, Mima. Reach for the goal."

She's about to open the sliding doors, when Budou, Chen and Phredia fly by fast, Budou shouting "you can't catch me~!"

Chen shouts back "oh yeah? Just watch!"

Mima turns transparent and jumps inside the shrine through the door, and waits for the girls to fly away.

Giggling, the three fly straight to the lake, while Ran runs after them, shouting "Chen, Budou! Don't go too far! Phredia, don't encourage them!"

After they all pass by, Mima whispers "how am I supposed to get inside with these many guards around here?"

She jumps back outside the shrine, snaps her fingers and says "the roof!"

Mima places a wooden ladder against the roof of the shrine, then floats just besides it, getting on to the roof, and pulling out a gray bag from her pocket.

From inside, she pulls out a pair of night-vision goggles, a rope with a three pronged hook attached, a stethoscope, and a book titled "Spying for Spirits".

She grabs the stethoscope, puts it on, then concentrates on hearing what's going on inside.

She hears soft snoring and thinks "good. Both targets are still sleeping."

She takes off the stethoscope, places the goggles on, turns translucent, then looks inside, turning them on as she does.

Inside, right in the middle of the room, Ail sleeps curled up, while Reimu piles up on him, letting her head hang in the air, almost reaching the floor.

Mima looks around and thinks "they're just so darn CUTE! I GOTTA find a way inside."

She looks around and spots a slightly opened window near the kitchen on the right side of the shrine.

She whispers "bingo~!" then pulls herself back up.

She discards the goggles, grabs the rope with the hook, secures the hook, then swings herself through the window, turning transparent and going through the wall, as she misses the open window by a foot and a half.

Once inside, she quietly sneaks around, then hears Chen, Ran and Budou coming back from the lake.

She thinks "crap, I'm running out of time."

She tip-toes straight to the dogs and starts sweating as she reaches them and opens her arms up, waving her fingers as she smiles with great expectation.

She quickly grabs both dogs and hugs them, then shouts out lout "OHH, you two are so CUTE AND SOFT AND CUDDLY!"

The sliding doors burst open, revealing Rika, who looks as angry as a raging bull, blowing steam from her nose, and ears.

Behind Rika, Suika, Ran, Chen, Budou and Phredia stare on.

Everything around Mima turns black and white, and the words "Mission Failed!" write themselves in white in the air across the room.

-

A little while later, Alice and Marisa fly from the gate to Makai, followed by Sara, who waves at them as she heads back to her post.

They fly above the Hakurei Shrine, then Marisa says "hey Alice. Let's go and tell Reimu about those shadows in Makai, ze."

Alice nods and says "good idea."

Shanghai adds "ooh! Miss Reimu sounds important!"

Hourai says "of course she is. She's the Hakurei maiden."

Shanghai asks "how do you even know that?"

Hourai replies "miss Shinki said so."

Shanghai nods while saying "oooohh~!" then follows Alice, Marisa and Hourai to the shrine.

The first thing Marisa notices as she enters the shrine, is Mima, hog-tied to the ceiling, crying twin waterfalls and saying "it's not fair!"

When Mima spots Marisa, she cries "Marisa~! Tell these monsters to let me go!"

Marisa gets closer and notices the ropes have charms all over them.

Marisa flicks it and says "you really made her mad this time, ze. What did you do?"

Mima cries "I just wanted to hug them, pet them, cuddle them, but they didn't let me~!"

Alice asks "them?"

Reimu's room door slides open with a violent bang and out comes Rika, looking quite content, with dog-Reimu on her hands pressed against her chest.

Marisa and Alice both open their eyes so wide, they look like large white disks with thick black outlines.

Marisa stutters for a while until she finally asks "dog? Reimu, you're a dog!?"

Shanghai and Hourai come out of hiding and Shanghai points at Reimu and says "wow, I didn't know someone so important was actually a small dogie!"

Hourai says "size matter not, my young grasshopper."

Alice grabs both dolls by their mouths and asks "Reimu, what happened to you!?"

Reimu's eyes are wide open and asks "me? What happened to YOU two? We haven't seen your around for a while, and now you dolls even talk!?"

After having calmed down and having set Mima free, Marisa, Alice and Reimu on Mima's lap, sit around the table, all looking at each other in surprise.

Reimu breaks the silent moment as she rubs her chin and says "so Yuki's and Shinki's shadows have been dealt with... And from what you just told me, Shinki's shadow died the same way as Suwako's shadow over here."

Shanghai adds "that shadow was sweet!"

Alice smiles as she pats the doll's head and chuckles.

Rika serves everyone tea, giving Reimu a small cup.

Reimu immediately takes a gulp of tea, then asks "do any of you know why those yellow stars appeared in the sky?"

Alice looks down to the table and sadly says "no clue. S-Yuki did die differently. She turns to black dust and just vanished."

Hourai adds "that made no sense to miss Shinki either."

Marisa quietly pats Reimu on the head, then quickly puts on her hat to cover her eyes and says "I'm sorry, but I can't stay longer. There's something I have to do back home."

Without waiting for the others to speak, Marisa grabs her broom, heads outside, waves her hand without turning her face from the sky and says "see you later, ze." then flies away, almost as fast as Aya.

Reimu looks up to Mima, who nods and says "something's bothering her."

Alice rubs her chin and says "yes, she seems a bit off."

-

At the Moriya Shrine, Ran, Chen and Budou land in front of the shrine.

Budou immediately turns around and smiles, Phredia flying from behind Budou's hair.

Chen hands over dog Ail, saying "thanks for letting me hold him!"

Budou replies "thanks for coming with me."

Ran smiles and says "well, you three take care. Come on, Chen. Lady Yukari must be steaming in this heat by now."

Ran lifts to the air, followed by Chen, who turns around to wave at Budou, then turns around again and says "wait for me, Ran-sama!"

Budou turns around and she, Phredia and Ail notice Suwako lying on the porch of the shrine with some steam coming from her body, Sanae sweeping leaves by the large gate, and Kanako sitting under the shade of the roof next to their donation box.

Budou smiles at the sight, while Ail starts to wag his tail.

Budou runs straight to Sanae and shouts "mama, gramma, big sis! We're here~!"

Suwako sits up and smiles, Sanae turns to them and waves, shouting "Budou, Phredia, Ail! Welcome!"

Kanako silently smiles where she sits, watching as Sanae hugs Budou, then grabs dog Ail, lifts him in the air and rubs her cheek against his, making his tail wag furiously.

Sanae places Ail on the ground, then he runs to Kanako on all four legs, then jumps on her, licks her cheek and says "lady Yasaka, very nice to see you!"

Kanako wipes her cheek with her sleeve and says "Ail... You shouldn't lick people like that."

Ail wags his tail and blushes as he says "sorry, I just can't help it. It's a dog thing, you know."

Kanako sighs and with a forced smile, she pats his head and says "ok, ok, I understand."

From one of the bushes behind Sanae, Ayalina glares at Kanako, making the goddess sweat, making her pet Ail more and more out of nervousness, then hides back into the bushes just before Sanae turns around, asking "is there something there, miss Yasaka?"

Ail continues to wag his tail and says "the heat does make us all see things that aren't there, right?" and turns to face Kanako.

She smiles nervously and says "err, sure... that's it. The heat."

-

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, a big commotion unsettles the peaceful day.

Aya tries to take a picture of dog Reimu, shouting "just stand still, you cute little puppy! This will make a GREAT story!"

Reimu growls and says "Aya, don't you DARE!"

Alice sweats, looks at Shanghai and Hourai and says "you two better not get in the way, ok?"

Hourai quietly nods, and Shanghai salutes, saying "as you wish, miss Alice!"

Alice sighs, and before Shanghai, who flies closer to her with a concerned look is able to ask what was wrong, Aya's camera clicks and Reimu shouts "I WARNED you!" then start barking and runs after Aya.

Rika chases after the two, shouting "miss Reimu, please calm down!"

Aya shouts "Ayayaya~!!! Wait, Reimu no, I'm sorry!"

Rika shouts "miss Aya, please stop running!"

Reimu shouts "yes, so I can BITE YOU, you bony bird!"

Aya shouts back "in you DREAMS! And I'm NOT bony!"

Reimu makes a very sudden sprint and manages to bite down on Aya's butt, making Aya's right eye pupil shrink, while her left turns to a bright star, making some tears of pain fall down her cheek.

Aya screams at the top of her lungs, running around in circles and shouting "get it off, get it off, get it OFF!"

Rika shouts "mi-miss Reimu, that's no way to behave! You don't even know where she's been sitting!"

Inside the shrine, looking on in disbelief, are Alice, Shanghai, Hourai and Momiji, who breaks the silence in the shrine, saying "miss Aya needs to mature a little more."

All agree and nod silently, as they chase Aya and Rika with their eyes while they run after each other, Reimu growling and making Aya cry out in pain.

Meanwhile, at Marisa's house, Marisa grabs the book she had shown Reimu before and looks through the pages, finding the information on that "paradise" she wishes to see.

She looks at the mountainous mess in her house and says "I think I can make a basement, ze. Just need to borrow some tools from Kourin."

-

During the rest of the day, everyone was looking for way to cool themselves up in the hot summer day.

Some getting into bodies of water, while others simply stayed in-door, doing nothing and lying on the floor, or just going about their daily lives.

At the Misty Lake, under the water, Kimi is in her dragon form, eating some fishes that pass by her.

After swallowing, she stares around under the water for some time.

A sudden flash passes by her mind, and she sees a red lake with no life in it. Only the color of scarlet as far as she can see.

Just like that, the image leaves her.

She shakes her head and turns back into her human form, flying above the lake and looking down to it, then says "Scarlet.... The Scarlet Lake. That was your name before, wasn't it?"

Kimi smirks and says "hmph! I better work this slowly... if I do it too quickly, I might attract unwanted attention."

She glares at Cirno, Daiyousei, and three more fairies, that unknown to her, are known as the three mischievous fairies.

Kimi looks to the other side of the lake. It's much more quite and more deserted.

She smiles and thinks "that's where I'll start. Yeah. The Scarlet Lake will return to it's full glory, and all will be thanks to me."

She flies to that deserted area and says to herself "better get started."

-

Night at Entei.

Eirin gets out of her bed and notices Kaguya and Tewi are both sleeping by now.

She smiles and rushes to the kitchen, grabs some leftover food, bites down hard on the peach-filled rice ball, then smirks as she chews contently.

After eating, she walks outside to look at the moon and the stars.

As if analyzing them, she stares on and on, and lightly bumps her right fist onto her left open palm under her chest, then enters the mansion once more.

Meanwhile, at the Moriya Shrine, Kanako sits on top of one of her logs on the lake, lost in deep thought.

She looks back to the shrine, just as Sanae turns off the light in her room, then looks to the entrance and notices Suwako, sitting like a frog on the porch, singing "auuu auuu~!"

Kanako smiles, then flies back down.

She walks next to Suwako and asks "Having fun there?"

Suwako smiles and says "just blessing the night before bed. Auuuu~"

Kanako enters the living room, and the second she sits next to the table, dog Ail gets up from beside Budou, who is coloring in one of Sanae's old coloring books, then heads straight to Kanako, wagging his tail at her as he gets closer.

Kanako smiles back, grabs him by the back of his neck, then places him on her lap. He yawns widely and immediately falls asleep.

Kanako continues to pet him in the ears as Suwako enters the shrine and says "Budou, Phredia? Ready to go to sleep?"

Phredia flies to Suwako and nods, but Budou yawns and asks "aww, do I have to?"

Suwako chuckles and says "come on, you'll sleep in my room tonight."

Budou smiles with a sleepy expression, barely able to keep her eyes open as she somberly gets up on her feet and stumbles after Suwako, yawning and saying "good night, papa. Good night, gramma Kanako."

Kanako happily replies "good night. Have sweet dreams."

After everyone leaves, and Kanako is sure nobody is coming out of their rooms, she waves her hands, making a small gust of wind enter the shrine and turn off all the lamps in the room.

She grabs her mirror, making it glow light-blue, mouths a few words, then the light shrinks to the size of a small marble, then floats around Ail, and enters his chest, hiding inside his heart.

Kanako whispers "I'm doing this for you and Sanae. You'll thank me when all this is over."

She grabs him and gives him a light hug, then places him on top of the table, where he curls up and continues to sleep.

With a serious look on her face, Kanako returns to her room, but before entering the door, doubt festers her thoughts, and for a moment, she thinks of getting her mirror back, but she wills herself to enter that room and shut the door tight behind her.

-

Morning at Entei.

Tewi wakes up after the rays of the sun hit her straight in the eye.

She moment she opens her still sleepy eyes, she notices Kaguya next to her and the many rabbits she usually sleeps with.

At first she thinks nothing of it, but slowly, questions as to "why" pop in her head.

She yawns and stretches as she says "probably bored again."

She looks around and slowly she realizes the roof is not there. She lets out a low "huh?" as she continues to look around, and slowly, she realizes she is outside the mansion.

Finally, the realization hits her, then she rapidly crawls to Kaguya and shakes up to wake her up, sweating and saying "Kaguya! Princess, wake up!"

Kaguya mumbles "uuh~ Not now. I gotta get that extra life!"

Tewi stands up and smirks wickedly. She jumps in the air and lands straight on to Kaguya's back, making her wake up by force, and with a sore back as a bonus.

Glaring at Tewi and rubbing her back as best to her abilities, Kaguya says "you better have a good excuse to pull something like that on me or I'll-"

Tewi grabs Kaguya's head, then makes her turn to face the mansion.

Steel plates cover the windows and the door.

Mounds of dead leaves, surrounding a few large round patches of unsettled dirt, and two mean-looking robot rabbits with flamethrowers inside their jagged teethed mouths.

Kaguya stares at all of that and says "this is the last time I'm letting you and Eirin remodel the mansion!"

Tewi scoffs and says "you idiot, we've been kicked out!"

Kaguya continues to smiles at Tewi, as if she didn't hear anything.

Slowly, the realization of Tewi's words reach her.

Her pupils start spinning, her smile twists, and her hair stands on end as she spring up and shouts "KICKED OUT!? NO, that's IMPOSSIBLE!"

Kaguya storms to the house, shouting "Eirin! Eirin, you come out here THIS INSTANT! Eirin!"

Tewi grabs Kaguya and pulls her back hard just as three bamboo spikes rise fast and hard from under one of the dead leave piles.

Both Kaguya and Tewi stare awestruck, their eyes wide open and their pupils so small, they are barely visible.

They sweat and continue to stare a the bamboo spikes as they slowly retract back underground. Tewi gulps and says "something tells me Eirin doesn't want us in there..."

Kaguya, in a blank state, asks "what just happened?"

From inside, Eirin opens a window and stares back outside.

Kaguya shouts "EIRIN! What the meaning of this!?"

Tewi says "look at that woman... that's not our Eirin."

Kaguya notices the shoulder-length hair and gasps in horror after realizing the woman inside the house, is none other than Shadow Eirin.

Tewi looks seriously at Kaguya and says "we've been tricked."

The black rabbit stares back at S-Eirin and says "I hate getting tricked like that. I should have seen this coming!"

To their surprise, one of the white rabbis jumps by the traps and go straight to the steel door, then starts tackling it, but is unsuccessful.

Tewi stares at the rabbit as it hops back to her and says "fun fun, let's have some fun!"

Tewi smirks with a wicked sense of accomplishment as she says to Kaguya "hey, princess. I think I know how we can do this."

Various small violet yin-yang orbs hover unnoticed around Tewi and Kaguya as they get behind some make-shift covers made with some bamboo shoots.

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Yukari is, once again, installing her game system to the large violet yin-yang, and as soon as she turns it on, the images of a beautiful young woman, and a small girl appear on the hologram screen.

The moment it turns on, Budou frees herself from Sanae along with dog Ail on her hands and runs straight to the image, then starts watching the screen in awe.

Sanae playfully says "well, that sure got her attention."

Ail replies "don't blame her. I LOVED video games back in the outside world."

Dog Reimu suspiciously says "Yukari. Who are we helping this time?"

Yukari covers her face with her fan and says "fu fu fu~ Perceptive. We'll be helping out Entei today."

Sanae asks "Entei? Are they ok?"

Ail asks "can I play?"

Yukari smiles and says "wouldn't have it any other way, deary."

Ail picks the second controller, then Budou grabs him and sits him on her lap, asking "what's all of this, papa?"

Ail replies "this is a video game. Although, this time I have my doubts. Anyway, we use these controllers to help the characters in the screen move and defend themselves, thus, winning the game."

Budou and Phredia look at each other quite surprised, then Budou says "and papa's going to win!"

Reimu laughs and says "he's only beaten me once in these things. He doesn't stand a chance!"

Ail sweats, but says nothing.

Yukari says "well, the game's about to begin."

Both Ail and Reimu wag their tails rapidly, but just before the game starts, Rika grabs Reimu and sits her on her lap, saying "the tea and snacks are ready, so if it's ok, I want to watch too."

Reimu wags her tail very fast and says "sure. Watch me beat Ail all you want!"

Sanae gets closer to watch the game, and as she grabs her teacup she says "now, now. Keep it clean and friendly."

Reimu puffs her cheeks and says "I don't cheat!"

Reimu selects the young woman, who has lots of intelligence and clever points, but lacks speed and power points.

Ail is forced to choose the little girl, who has excessive amounts of clever and intelligence points, but lacks some speed and has little power points.

Ail smirks and says "that's Tewi, alright."

-

At Entei, Tewi finishes saying to the rabbits "and remember, the unsettled dirt patches are holes. Only ONE rabbit may pass at a time. Don't forget those piles of leaves, as those spikes can be quite painful. When you get to the door, don't forget two of you are needed to deactivate those metal rabbits, and you'll need at least 10 to tackle that door down. Did I make myself clear!?"

All the rabbits are wearing a green cap on their heads, all saluting Tewi, who wears a larger green cap, and a star on the left side of her chest.

Kaguya smiles and says "now remember. If one of you dies, we'll have to eat you."

Tewi's eyes cast in shadow and sweats, and all the rabbits just stare at Kaguya, who giggles, winks and sticks out her tongue, saying "just kiddi~ng."

Everyone's in position. Tewi and Kaguya both have a small platoon of 20 white rabbits each.

The rabbits excitedly say "yes, let's bring down the house!"

"Dibs on the last carrot!"

"I'll~ be back!"

Inside the mansion, S-Eirin stares on with wonderment in her eyes, but the moment she notices Tewi and Kaguya staring at her, she smiles and waves her fingers at them.

Tewi says "let's do this! Front line, 1 through 5, GO!"

Kaguya says "front and middle line, 1 through 8, go and win!"

Tewi looks at Kaguya's bamboo cover and looking a bit annoyed, she asks "why are you sending so many?"

Kaguya says "I'm a princess. I know what I'm doing."

At the Hakurei Shrine, in the game screen says "Reimu is being a smarty-pants!"

Budou pats Ail's ears and asks "papa, what does that mean?"

Annoyed, Ail answers "it means Reimu is cheating!"

Reimu and Rika stick their tongues out at Ail, then Reimu says "don't mind him, Budou. He's just being a sore loser right from the start."

Budou stares at Yukari for a moment and says "lady gramma? What does sore loser mean?"

Yukari sweats while forcing a smile and says "lucky for you, Ail, she's so cute. And that means he doesn't like losing, and will probably throw a tantrum after doing just that."

Budou smiles and says "ooh~! Papa, you're not gonna do that, right?"

Ail sweats and says "they're just trying to get to me."

Reimu's eyes are covered in shadow as she silently smirks.

Again, Budou's face fills with wonderment, but Sanae pats her head and says "just watch the screen, sweetie."

-

At Entei, Tewi's rabbits get too close to one of the pile of leaves and activate the spikes, but thankfully it only startles them.

Kaguya's rabbits split into two groups of 4, and slowly progress through the traps.

Once close to the holes, Tewi and Kaguya's rabbits pass 1 by 1, and immediately after two of them reach the porch, they quickly stomp hard on the mechanical rabbits, shutting them down just before they start spitting fire.

Shortly after, 4 more rabbits arrive at the door and start tackling it hard.

Tewi raises her fist in victory and says "alright, we're in! 6 through 8 go, go, go!"

3 more rabbits from Tewi's platoon start to go through the many traps, however, none of the pile of leaves activate.

S-Eirin, from inside the house, looks to the door as it is being tackled.

She blows a puff of air, puffing her cheeks in the process, then grabs a simple remote with a blue button on it, then presses the button.

From the inactive leaf piles come black rabbits with red eyes, who grab the white rabbits that haven't made it through the hole by their ears, spin them in the air, then fling them away to the forest.

As they pass above their leader's heads, they shout "weee~"

"I can see my house from here!"

"But I don't have wings yet!"

The last one shouts some obscene words that make even Tewi blush.

A total of 6 rabbits, 3 from each platoon, are sent flying back to the forest by the overpowered black rabbits.

Tewi bites down hard on her thumb-nail with jagged teeth and says "darn! I didn't see THIS coming!"

Kaguya shouts back "What now? Only 4 of them made it to the door, while the other two are on the mecha-rabbits."

Tewi shouts back "I'm thinking, I'm thinking!"

She turns to face S-Eirin at the window and shouts "hey you! Get out of our mansion!"

S-Eirin smiles, then lifts her right arm up with her hand balled into a fist, then flips her middle finger and thumb open, smiling even wider.

She looks at her arm with curiosity, but then smiles again the moment she turns to face Tewi.

Tewi's face turns red and steam comes out her ears as she stomps on the ground, furiously shouting "that is IT! No more games!"

She grabs a glass mug with beer from under her dress, gulps it down while holding her arms on her waist, then throws the empty mug away as soon as it's done.

She stares at Kaguya and says "Let's send 5 each. Spread them out and have at least two of them distract the black rabbits!"

Kaguya nods with a serious face, turns to her platoon and says "you heard her! 9 through 13, move and spread out! Number 12, try to get the black rabbits' attention!"

Tewi orders her platoon "spread around, and you, number 9, make sure the black rabbits don't get any others! MOVE OUT!"

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Ail finishes saying "so we work together, kick her out, then we go for sudden death, alright?"

Reimu nods and says "but I swear, if you start crying after losing, I'm biting your tail!"

Ail nods and says "agreed."

Budou sniffles and asks "wh-what? Su-sudden death? No! Papa, Hakurei sis. Don't fight!"

Ail looks at Budou, who's nose is a bit runny and her eyes are filled with tears.

Ail chuckles and says "it's ok, Budou. In a game, sudden death means the first one to score immediately wins."

Rika, in a soothing tone of voice, adds "don't worry little child. Miss Reimu and mister Ail are really good friends. They would never fight. Right?"

Budou smiles, while everyone else, but Yukari, seem to be blushing, entranced by Rika's sudden soothing voice.

Yukari, in a teasing tone says "hey~ The game's starting again~! *giggle*"

Ail and Reimu are both shocked at the sight of the field.

It's been expanded, with a small maze added right before the traps.

Yukari chuckles and says "well, it seems Eirin's shadow has some surprises of her own."

-

At Entei, Tewi and Kaguya both stare with their eyes cast in shadow as they realize the field has expanded, adding a small maze in front of the traps, and some more of those black rabbits for good measure.

Awestruck, Tewi says "K-Ka... Kaguya, did you see that!?"

Kaguya covers her mouth with her sleeve as she looks on very serious and says "it appears she has some of Eirin's powers!"

Tewi shouts "send in two more!!! 14, 15, go and assist!"

Kaguya points to the mansion and says "14 and 15, make your princess proud!"

From an overhead view, the white rabbits seem lost inside the maze, while the black rabbits actively hunt down the white rabbits, grabbing two of them already and flinging them back to the forest, both saying "hey, what's up?"

"Can't we all just get along?" just as they pass over their commanders.

Tewi growls, but quickly notices one of the white rabbits has grabbed one of the back rabbits by the ears, and is striking it against the ground, swinging it above it's head just to strike it down hard on the other side.

The black rabbit breaks to pieces, revealing mechanical parts inside.

Tewi's eyes glint along with Kaguya's as they both grin wickedly and shout "PLATOON! DESTROY THOSE ROBOTS!"

Soon, the maze becomes a battlefield, and both black and white rabbits fly around all over the field until there are only three white rabbits and two black rabbits left.

Excited, Tewi shouts "15 through 20, GO AND PLOW THAT FIELD FLAT!!!!"

Kaguya calmly says "go my brave little soldiers, and claim victory!"

The last 10 rabbits march toward the small maze, eating it up rapidly, shouting "on to victory~!"

"Fun for all!"

"Can someone lend me a fiver?"

"This maze tastes like mochi."

The other three rabbits destroy the remaining black rabbits, then join the other 10, leveling the maze and going through all the traps with ease, all passing 1 by 1 through the holes again, then, as soon as enough of them make it through, they go to the door and with their combined strength, they knock down the steel door.

From outside, Tewi and Kaguya watch as S-Eirin stares surprised and scared toward the door as the white rabbits knock it down and immediately rush to her, knocking her to the ground.

Tewi jumps with her fist in the air shouts "YE-HEH-HEA! Teach her never to mess with US!"

Kaguya smiles and covers her mouth with her sleeve while saying "finally we get to go inside. This sun is killing me!"

Their celebration stops when Tewi realizes something, then asks "wait, why aren't they coming out?"

Tewi flies high enough to see inside through the window, where the rabbits surround S-Eirin as she pets them all, while sitting on the ground with them. Tewi clenches her fist and says "why you little traitors!"

Kaguya says "Inaba, why not just fly over there and set them straight?"

Tewi realizes she can fly and smacks her own face hard with her left hand.

She quickly recovers and rushes to the front entrance, saying "I'm gonna get that shadow and those little traitors and--"

Before she can finish her sentence, a bucket of oil falls on her the second she flies inside the mansion.

She takes off the bucket from her head and stares angrily at S-Eirin, saying "you're gonna have to do better than THAT if you want to stop--"

From the floor below, a set of flame-throwers activate and send fire straight at Tewi, who desperately flies back outside, screaming in pain, shouting "the fire! It bu~rns!"

Tewi lands right beside Kaguya, who shouts "drop on the ground!"

As soon as Tewi drops on the ground and starts rolling, Kaguya fires a blast of energy that lifts a lot of dirt that lands on top of Tewi, successfully turning off the fire.

-

After coming out of the mound of dirt burned and covered in dirt, Tewi whispers "thanks. I owe you one."

Kaguya sighs and says "she's just too smart. How are we going to beat her now?"

Tewi rubs her chin and says "I'll think of something!"

The sound of footsteps make Tewi and Kaguya look back at the Mansion's gate and gasp with a smile on their faces.

Tewi exclaims "Reisen and Eirin!"

Kaguya adds "the REAL Eirin!"

Eirin and Reisen smile, then Eirin launches and arrow that splits into many red beams, destroying all the bamboo spike traps at once.

Reisen shouts "here comes the cavalry!" as she shoots a large red bullet that explodes next to the mechanical rabbits, blasting both out of the way, but creating a thick smoke that blocks the view from the entrance.

Eirin shouts "behind me!"

A red and blue beam that twist around each other flies straight at Eirin, who deflects to with her bow, then takes three arrows from her quiver and points at the mansion's entrance.

Eirin says "Udonge, you blocked out our field of vision!"

Reisen snaps back "I'm just trying to help, geez!"

The smoke clears and Eirin sights her shadow, who looks exactly like her, only with shorter hair.

Eirin asks "what is it you want?"

S-Eirin points at the mansion without turning away from Eirin, then gets an arrow from her quiver, pointing at Eirin immediately.

Eirin smirks and chuckles, then says "well then, you are gutsy. Alright... on 3."

S-Eirin nods and continues to point at Eirin. The wind blows hard past them, making a few leaves pass right in front of them, and the moment they pass by, Eirin shouts "THREE!"

S-Eirin unleashes her arrow that turns into a red and blue beam that twist around each other as they fly straight to Eirin.

Eirin fires all three arrows at the same time, unleashing five red and blue beams that twist around each other.

The one in the center intercepts S-Eirin's attack, while the two below intercepts a second beam hidden under the first, while the two top beams combine and strike S-Eirin in the head, shattering her body and turning her into black dust almost immediately, the wind blowing her away to nothing.

Eirin turns around, takes a deep breath and with a smile in her face, she says "So glad to be home."

Kaguya and Tewi smile back, then Kaguya runs to give Eirin a light hug, then walks toward Reisen, and says "I'm glad to see you're back, Inaba. We all missed you."

Reisen smiles back, but doesn't respond at all.

Tewi stares suspiciously at Reisen, but then smiles and says "you must be so tired. Come, let's go inside, so you can rest."

Kaguya is the first to enter the mansion, followed closely by Eirin, while Tewi leads Reisen through the hole S-Eirin had dug.

The moment her right foot touches the trap, Reisen uses her left foot to impulse herself back while grabbing Tewi by the back of her shirt and pulling her into the hole instead.

From inside the hole, Tewi shouts "oww, oww~! What the-!?"

She looks up to Reisen, who is smirking at her with her left eyes half open, giving Tewi a very bad feeling.

She rubs her eyes and looks at Reisen again, and instead, she smiles back a Tewi very naturally and chuckles, then says "you're gonna have to find new tricks."

Tewi jumps out of the hole, but sits on the edge, looking at Reisen with wonder as she enters the mansion.

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, both Ail and Reimu look glum and annoyed toward the screen as it says "The End. Winner: Eirin Yagokoro"

With shadows covering their eyes, the two dogs stare at the screen, when Ail suddenly asks "what the hell was that?"

Reimu adds "Yukari, what was the point of this!? Eirin isn't even here!"

Yukari smiles tenderly and says "seems Eirin returned home just as you two messed up."

Reimu starts growling while Ail, in an annoyed tone of voice asks "then why did we even play this in the first place? Look, even our score is tied! I demand a do-over!"

Budou stares at Reimu, then back at Ail, then asks "lady gramma? Is that what a sore loser looks like?"

Yukari opens her fan and thinks "that's so unfairly cute" but says "why, yes dear. Those two are a good example of sore losers."

Reimu says "ok, that's the last straw!" then starts barking and trying to break free form Rika's grasp, who says "my lady! Please, calm down! My lady!"

Somehow, Reimu manages to summon the strength to drag Rika along with her while chasing Yukari, who simply floats away, smiling and saying "aww, don't be like that. I promise, next game will be much better."

Back inside, Ail stares at Budou for a moment, then says "you know, I wanna try that too."

He starts growling, then barking, and runs after Yukari who shouts "oh, not you too. Such adorable little puppies!"

Inside the shrine, Sanae pats Budou on the head and says "seems your papa's having fun."

Budou raises her head to look at Sanae and smiles as she says "yeah! Hakurei sis seems to be having fun also!"

Phredia flies in front of Budou's face, then points her finger at the little bat's nose.

Budou, sounding disappointed, says "Aww~ Ok, I'll stay here with mama, and mama 2"

Somehow, Mima has knocked Sanae to the side, while she grabs Budou and sits her on her lap, and with a smile on her face, Mima shouts "GO~ Reimu. Bite that ankle! Ail, go for the butt! Woo~"

Outside, Yukari floats in circles around the shrine while smiling and saying "come and get me. Aww~ is that all you got, little pups?"

Ail continues to chase Yukari as best he can, running on all four legs and barking like crazy, while Reimu continues to bark and uses her two front legs as Rika continues to hold her back legs, being dragged all over the grounds and shouting "miss Reimu, you have to calm down!"

Finally, Reimu manages to free herself from Rika and sprints very suddenly, catching Yukari's ankle, making her scream in pain and floating around in circles a lot faster, while Ail continues to give chase, and Rika running behind them, shouting "miss Reimu, please, calm down!"

-

Night falls, and after Ran and Chen arrive at the Shrine, they manage to calm Reimu down.

While everyone else it in the shrine, Ail is outside, rolling on the ground next to some bushes.

A rustling sound close by unsettles Ail, making him sniff around, trying to catch any foreign sent in the air, but nothing.

He resumes his rolling around, wagging his tail as he does, then stops again, lifting his left ear and sniffing around again.

He sits on the ground, calms down, then scratches behind his ear with his back legs and says "uuu~, this feels so good. Guess being a dog isn't that bad."

From behind him a girl shouts "BOO~!"

Ail runs back to the shrine as fast as he can, yelping and whining with his tail between his legs.

Kogasa sits on the ground, right where Ail was before, laughing and patting her belly, saying "he's even more of a chicken when he's a dog! HAHAHAHAHA!"

An arm with a white and blue sleeve grabs Kogasa by the back of her neck, then drags her against her will to the shrine, saying "you REALLY should stop picking on him."

Kogasa exclaims "m-miss Sanae! I-I'm sorry~!"

Sanae keeps dragging her and angrily replies "too late little karakasa! You're going to have to take responsibility now!"

Inside the shrine, Reimu sits on the table with a large piece of paper and a feather almost as tall as she is on her little hands.

She looks at Sanae, who says to her "she will be my temporary partner from now on. This way, I can keep and eye on her!"

Reimu replies "good. Now, let's see, what should we call you?"

Kogasa complains "now WAIT a minute! Don't I get a say in this!?"

Sanae smiles in a wicked manner and says "well, I can always hunt you."

Kogasa sweats and grabs her umbrella, hugs it tightly, and while trembling she says "p-p-p-partner... s-s-sounds g-go-good."

Reimu then says "how about 'Windy Surprise'?"

Sanae smiles and says "that sounds AMAZING! Thanks Reimu."

Kogasa is about to complain again, but a glint in Sanae's left eye convinces her to keep quiet.

Reimu writes down the name on the list, then says "ok, good. Now, Rika if you please-"

Rika comes from the kitchen when Budou says "wait, what about us!"

Chen and Budou stand in front of the table, smiling at Reimu. Reimu asks "you? What about you?"

Budou cries "we are a team! Chen and I!"

Chen adds "don't you dare think any less from us!"

Reimu smiles and a small pink heart floats from her head, however, she keeps her cool look and says "alright. How about I call your team 'Batty Cat'?"

Budou flaps her wings, asking "really~!?"

Chen adds "that sounds... weird."

Reimu already writes down the name, when Ran, who is holding Ail, says "no, that won't do!"

Ail adds "call them-"

Ran and Ail at the same time say "Impossibly Adorable!"

Without questioning, Reimu adds the name next to "Batty Cat" and both Budou and Chen complain "hey, that's not fair!"

Mima grabs both from behind and snuggles them on her cheeks as she whispers "don't worry girls. Just show them what you're made of, and they'll give you whatever name you want."

Both Budou and Chen smile, then hug Mima's neck, both saying "thank you miss Mima."

Hearts float all over Mima's head and a little bit of blood runs from her nose.

Phredia stares at the trailing blood as she hovers just in front of Mima's face, then covers her mouth as she silently giggles, then flies behind Budou's hair, hiding in it as she always does.

-

At Entei, Reisen bends on her window, letting half of her torso outside and whispers "don't be a fool. Wait until I have them all in my grasp. THEN you can make your move."

A knock on the door startles her,making her spring up and back inside the room.

Eirin enters her room and asks "is something wrong? Who are you talking to?"

Eirin notices Reisen has taken off her tie and unbuttoned the top of her shirt.

Reisen stares back at Eirin suspiciously and says "you must be hearing things. I'm just silently watching the stars."

Eirin keeps quiet for a moment, then says "alright. Well, you have a good night. I'll see you in the morning." then smiles as she slides the door close.

Reisen smirks in a most wicked manner and her eyes start glowing aqua as she replies in a sinister undertone "yes. I'll certainly see YOU in the morning, you old hag."

The sliding doors burst open and Eirin smiles with a dangerous aura around her and asks "did you say something?"

S-Reisen acts just like the real Reisen now, and shivers as she says "n-no, of course not. You're just tired, so you better go to sleep. Heh-heh"

Eirin stops smiling, and the aura around her seems to lighten up as she says "hmm *yawn* I guess I do need a good night's sleep. Good night, Udonge."

S-Reisen replies "good night, m-master."

After Eirin leaves, S-Reisen takes a deep breath of relief and thinks "that was close. I need to be more careful."

She walks to her drawer and looks into the mirror and thinks "those two idiots were easy to fool... even though my hair looks slightly different! ...But this one."

She opens the large drawer and inside is Tewi, stuffed inside on the tight drawer, trembling, tied up tightly, and mumbling through the thick black cloth covering her mouth.

S-Reisen stares with an annoyed face and grabs Tewi by her neck, squeezing it tightly, making her cry some tears as she whispers "you weren't so easy to fool... but I promised her I'd give HER the pleasure of dealing with you, so you just sleep tight, little rabbit, and enjoy you last moments alive."

She lets go of Tewi and closes the drawer again, staring wickedly with her right eye narrowly opened as both eyes glow aqua in the darkening room.

-

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou, Phredia and Ayalina were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

Some assistance by Snapshot2010

DEC 4 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

Random Sukima Interview part 6

Interviewer: Willie G.R.

Translator: Yukari Yakumo

WGR: Welcome, to another interview with out guest, The Random Sukima. And say hi to our lovely translator, Yukari Yakumo!

RS: $*&%#!NG!

YY: "It's a pleasure to be back!" Yes, I agree. Thank you for you kind words, mister Willie, but you're still not getting it back.

WGR: Hmm... Right, of course. So, mister Sukima, let us begin. Now, what did miss Reisen taste like?

RS: OOOH! $*!)$_^& DIW% H*HT$Y)

YY: "Oooh! An interesting taste. She tasted like grape juice."

WGR: Well that sounds quite tasty indeed.

YY: Did you say something?

WGR: Right, moving on. What did miss Byakuren taste like. (Admittedly, I am VERY curious to her taste. The studio fell silent for that one.)

RS: MMM~~! !$%H!G)GMVE$ $U!$#* VRJE _#N (% (**

YY: HMPH!

WGR: M-miss Yukari, you gave me your word!

YY: Fine. "MMM~~! She was so~ delicious and sweet. She tasted just like one tasty blueberry pie. My mouth still waters at the memory of such sweetness." There, you happy now!? Stupid Sukima doesn't know REAL taste!

WGR: Umm.... I ... I see. Well, that's all the time we have for today, please remember to tune in to our Sukima interview, now if you'll excuse me!

YY: After those cameras went off, mister Willie went straight to a pie shop to buy some blueberry pies for himself. The fool even forgot to turn of his digital journal. Now, let's see what we got here.

RS: $*(^*(#!B (BV#)#*^$!$N (#

YY: Don't go soft on me. Now, let's see what we got here... Oh ho ho~! Two years ago Willie tried to climb a tree, but he...


	19. Chapter 18

Midnight at the Moriya Shrine.

A thin human-shaped silhouette runs from the shrine's entrance, carrying two small cages.

Behind the human, flying fast, are Budou and Phredia.

Budou shouts "PAPA~! Give me back my papa!"

Phredia starts shooting yellow petal danmaku at the shadow, generating light around it, revealing a thin Kyo, wearing a long lab coat and a pair of small round glasses, looking a bit worried and saying "I can't. We HAVE to research them."

In the cages, he has a sleeping dog-Reimu in one and dog-Ail in the other.

Ail sounds tired and uses all his will to shout "Budou, don't! Get Sanae!"

S-Kyo gasps and exclaims "AMAZING! Even though you are a dog, you can speak like a human! Rikako is going to LOVE you guys!"

Budou's eyes turn aquamarine by now, and releases a shrieking echo when she shouts "you give my papa BACK, you meanie!"

S-Kyo covers his years for a moment, then says "oh, that's right, you're still here. Sorry little one, but I don't have time for this."

He pulls a round metallic object from his pocket and says "bye. Won't be seeing you around."

Phredia surrounds herself and Budou inside a barrier as S-Kyo tosses the round orb at them, but instead of an explosion, there is a blinding flash that makes Budou cry out "my eyes! Papa, my eyes hurt!"

Ail doesn't answer, which makes Budou feel more nervous and cries "papa? Papa, where are you? Are you there!?"

Phredia gently brushes Budou's cheeks with her hands, then blows gently on her eyes, soothing Budou's pain.

Budou finally manages to open her eyes and discovers S-Kyo and the dogs are gone.

She sobs and sniffles, but then stops and says "no crying. I have to get mama!"

She flies straight back to the Moriya Shrine, shouting "mama, mama! The man in white took papa!"

The lights in the shrine start turning on one by one, as Budou continues to shout and cry about her papa being taken away.

Further away, just outside the Youkai forest, the shaggy shadow continues running as if his life depended on it.

Ail looks to Reimu's cage as he starts feeling dizzy and sleepy.

He asks "wha-... what did you do to us."

In a cold, but calm tone of voice, S-Kyo replies "relax, it's just a tranquilizer. I need you alive."

Ail manages to ask "wh-why?"

S-Kyo replies "talking dogs that act just like humans? This is a scientific breakthrough. We're gonna experiment on you and see what makes you so special. Don't worry, though, we're not gonna kill you. Just need a few blood samples."

Ail loses his strength and is unable to keep awake. Slowly, his eyes close shut and everything goes black.

-

In the Moriya Shrine, Chen rubs her sleepy eyes and asks "are you sure about it?"

Budou angrily flaps her wings and says "yes, YES! He looked just like large brother Kyo!"

Sanae sighs and says "calm down, Budou. Kogasa and I will get him back!"

Sanae walks just outside the shrine and pulls out her gohei, gently swaying it around and making a very soothing sound.

Almost immediately, Kogasa falls from the trees near the entrance and says "what is it now!?"

In a strict tone, Sanae says "stop the complaining! We're going after Ail. He's been captured!"

Kogasa gets close to the entrance, becoming more visible under the light from inside and says "ooh! We MUST save him now! Who's gonna get scared of me if he's gone!?" Sanae sweats and smiles.

From behind Sanae, dressed and ready, are Budou and Chen, who bravely says "alright! Time to prove ourselves!"

Budou adds "let's save papa!" Kanako says "oh no you don't."

Suwako adds "Chen, if Ran finds out you got yourself in danger, she's going to get mad."

Kanako continues "and Budou, you still have much to learn before you can even begin to defend yourself."

Chen snaps back "hey, I am quite strong!"

Budou adds "I got Phredia with me too. Together, we can do this!"

Sanae says "no, you two stay here and let us handle this. Come on, Kogasa!"

Without turning around, Sanae lifts to the air and flies away as quickly as possible.

Kogasa looks at the two disappointed girls and silently shrugs, then goes flying after Sanae, opening her umbrella as she leaves the shrine.

Both girls sigh, then Kanako and Suwako look at each other, wink, then Kanako says "well, let's go to bed. I'm sure Sanae will bring Ail back by sunrise."

Suwako adds "that's right."

She smiles at Chen and Budou and winks as she waves at them and heads to her room, saying "good night."

Kanako yawns and replies "good night."

The second the two doors close, Chen, Budou and Phredia look at each other with mischievous faces, and without saying another word, they fly away into the night.

-

Near the Nameless Hill, around a very rocky area, S-Kyo stops, panting heavily and saying "we-we're here!"

Both dogs are sound asleep, so he doesn't get a reply.

S-Kyo arranges his small round glasses and says "right... you're asleep."

He steps on a small brown rock, opening up a small underground passageway, and quickly starts descending, but he stops cold when from behind him a woman says "well well, an underground passage. I never would have though of that."

S-Kyo turns around and realizes Mima is an inch away from him.

With clenched teeth and shaking in his shoes, S-Kyo quickly takes out another small metal orb from his pocket and blinds Mima for a moment as he runs inside.

After recovering her sight, Mima says "what a sneaky shadow."

From behind, Sanae calls "Mima!"

She and Kogasa land next to the evil spirit, then Sanae quickly asks "so, you chasing that shadow too?"

Mima nods and says "let's go, and keep your guard up. This all seems very familiar somehow, and that can only mean trouble for us!"

Sanae nods, then all three head inside the hidden passage.

Kogasa suddenly says "nee-san, I need to use the bathroom."

Sanae replies "please, stop calling me that! You should have gone before we left, anyway... Ugh, whatever. Look, go over there."

Kogasa cries "eww, no way!"

Mima snaps "then hold it in!"

Moments later, Budou, Phredia and Chen arrive and land just next to the open passageway.

Chen says "there... I can smell them in there."

Budou opens her mouth and squeaks for a moment, then stops and stares.

She says "mama, Kogasa and mama number 2 are in there. They're not far... we should wait a bit."

Chen sighs and says "alright. But let's get inside, at least."

Budou nods along with Phredia, who quietly sits on her shoulder, then they go inside, and right after they do, the door closes shut once more.

-

Inside, the walls, floors and ceiling are made of a very advanced-looking light-blue metal that looks so clean and polished; it's like a mirror.

Budou and Chen look all around as they walk down the single corridor.

Phredia jumps from Budou's shoulder and excitedly pulls on her sleeve to the right.

Budou asks "w-wah? Phredia, what is is?"

Phredia excitedly points at the wall to the right, then Chen smirks and says "I smell something in there."

Budou tries her sonar, but it just bounces against the wall.

Chen says "stand back" and the moment Budou moves away, Chen expands her claws and in just a few swipes, she manages to break a small hole on the wall, causing a hidden door to beep and opens up right next to them.

Chen smiles as her tails playfully swing around and says "hehe, Ran-sama would be so proud!"

Budou smiles at Chen, then says "come on... I think I can smell papa over here."

Chen walks besides Budou and says "I'm positive this is his smell... but the sent is spread all around. I can't tell where he is."

Phredia rests on Budou's head as she uses her sonar, then says "hmm, he's not far. Let's go."

Meanwhile, all the way down the corridor, where the walls and floors are covered with burn marks and grease, Mima, Sanae and Kogasa reach a very large and spacious room.

At the very end of the large room, dog Reimu, still inside the small cage, lies on her belly, sleeping contently.

Mima points and shouts "there she is. Reimu!"

Sanae asks "but... wait, where's Ail!?"

From besides Reimu, a woman hidden in shadow says "my assistant is taking good care if him, so don't worry about him."

Sanae shouts "what? I swear, if you even harm a hair on his head, I'm so going to kill you!"

Mima says to herself "hmm... I've heard that voice before."

The woman replies "no need to get so aggressive, little green, armpit-maiden. We won't harm your pets."

Sanae angrily shouts "hey, they are NOT PETS" Kogasa adds "they are our friends... and my food supply!"

Sanae stares at Kogasa and says "I thought I told you to stop calling him that!"

Kogasa replies "but he's the only sure-source of food for me~"

Mima whispers "... and Reimu called her... Ugh, I know that person... but why can't I remember."

Sanae and Kogasa both have a sweat-drop fall from the back of their heads, watching as Mima lightly punches her forehead.

Sanae is about to ask something, but Mima suddenly shouts "A-HA! I remember you now! You're that human, Rikako Asakura, the heretic!"

Rikako jumps from hiding and shouts "I'm NOT A HERETIC!!!"

She wears a white lab coat with a yellow ribbon on her neck, a pair of small round glasses on her purple eyes, and a white ribbon on her long purple hair.

-

Budou and Chen arrive to a room full of screens with pictures of the outside, and many flashy buttons in many colors, some blinking with red lights around them under the screens.

Budou's eyes expand and twinkle as she looks at the buttons and says "oooh, so sparkly and blinky and colorful."

As if in a trance, Budou gets closer to one of the flashiest keyboards and gently passes her fingers through it.

Chen asks "Budou? What's the matter?"

Budou continues to look at the keyboard and says "it's so shiny and pretty~ I wonder what does it do?"

Budou readies her little finger, and with great anticipation she launches it straight at one of the keys, but just before she touches it, S-Kyo says in a strict tone of voice "don't touch that, little one!"

Budou stops and blushes, then backs away from the screen and keyboard, hiding her hands behind herself.

Chen hisses and says "who do you think you are, telling us what to do?"

S-Kyo says "you do realize you entered here without permission, and you were about to destroy a precious piece of equipment."

Budou says "I wasn't going to break it. I just wanted to see what it does."

S-Kyo arranges his glasses, moving his coat to one side, and momentarily revealing dog Ail, still sleeping inside his cage at the next room.

Chen shouts "that's Ail!"

Budou shouts "give my papa back, you bad man!"

S-Kyo smiles and says "so... you want him back this badly."

Mechanical spider legs spread from S-Kyo's back, and after he presses a button beside him, all the screens and keyboards on the room hide under the floor.

Budou start to tremble, but Chen stands ready as S-Kyo says "tell you what. If you want him back so badly, defeat me in a friendly duel."

Defiantly, Chen asks "and what if we lose?"

S-Kyo thinks for a moment as the spider legs lift him from the ground and start moving him around the room, even on the walls, and says "I'll keep you as test subjects."

Chen smirks and says "then I guess we can't lose. Right Budou?"

When Chen turns around, she realizes Budou is trembling in a corner, while Phredia tries to calm her down.

Chen sighs and says "fine, I'll just have to beat him for the both of us!"

Back at the larger room, Rikako has entered a large machine with a small cockpit that lies against a large wall, full of guns and metallic tentacles and laughs as she says "I'll have to teach you a lesson now. You want that pet of yours back, you'll have to defeat me and my invincible machine!"

Mima smirks and says "now you're talking!"

Sanae shouts "you just got yourself into a whole lot of trouble, lady!"

Kogasa only whimpers, then Sanae grabs her and flies with her to the air along with herself and Mima, who continues to smile mischievously.

-

The second they are in the air, Mima shouts "Twilight - Crescent Moonlight!"

Mima summons her staff to her hand and as soon as she touches it, the tip of the crescent moon starts glowing yellow, then small yellow laser beams fly in 8 different directions and bounce off everything, but Rikako's machine.

As she continues to shoot lasers, Mima uses her free hand to unleash a wave of medium orange orbs in groups of 5 arcs that violently explode on contact, and an extra-large yellow orb that trails straight at the machine's main cockpit.

Rikako answers with a barrage of blue lasers and red orbs that although fast, they lack much power.

Sanae grabs Kogasa's umbrella and uses it as a shield as she and Kogasa fly past Mima and the machine, and head straight to Reimu.

A few stray beams and orbs hit the umbrella, successfully protecting Sanae and Kogasa, but Kogasa cries "oww~! That hurts! Nee-san give me back my umbrella!"

Sanae shouts "just grab the cage!"

Kogasa reaches for Reimu's cage and grabs it just as she and Sanae pass by.

The second Mima notices they have Reimu, her spell intensifies, sending more and more medium orbs and small lasers as she grazes with ease through Rikako's attacks.

Rikako shouts "no! My subject!"

Sanae and Kogasa fly close to the machine, then Sanae says "game over!"

She grabs Kogasa's umbrella and closes it, then holds it like a baseball bat.

She swings the umbrella with great force, despite Kogasa's complaints, striking the cockpit and cracking the small window, making Rikako shout "oh no, my machine!"

Both Kogasa and her umbrella have their eyes spinning around, and both see small stars fly around their heads, but Sanae grabs Kogasa and flies away fast, just as Mima's lasers and extra-large orb strike the cracked glass, creating a chain reaction of explosions that cause the machine to shut down and blow steam and thick black clouds of smoke from all over.

Rikako ejects from the cockpit on her chair while coughing and shouting "not again! You are all monsters!"

The second she hits the ground and unbuckles herself, Sanae grabs her by the lab coat and presses her face against Rikako's and in a dangerous, brave and demanding undertone she says "you better tell me where Ail is, or I swear I'm gonna..."

Sanae whispers something in Rikako's ears, making her face turn blue, then green, then white.

Mima and Kogasa wonder what is Sanae saying, but they can't hear a thing, and very suddenly Rikako cries "n-no~! You... you WOULDN'T!"

Sanae stares back with a serious expression and says "all you have to do is tell me, and I won't. Hide him, and you are GOING to be very sorry."

Sanae's eyes narrow and appear to glow as she finishes her sentence.

Rikako sighs and says "my assistant has him. Come, I'll lead you to them."

Kogasa looks at Mima and while trembling she says "nee-san seems a little agitated."

When Rikako passes by them, Reimu, while still sleeping, barks lightly and whispers "hereti~c."

Rikako shouts "I'm NOT a heretic!!!"

-

In the hidden room, Chen spins around, bouncing off the walls and hissing as she slashes her claws across S-Kyo's metallic spider legs.

She stands firmly on her feet, staring at S-Kyo's eyes, then pulls out a spell card and shouts "Shikigami Sign - Pentagram Flight"

Chen spins into a ball while flying around and draws a pentagram while in the air, then stops spinning when the star is finished.

From each tip, dense danmaku circles with red and blue petal-shaped bullets spread around evenly.

The second time she draws the star and the danmaku spreads, it start's moving counter-clockwise.

S-Kyo uses the mechanical spider legs to avoid being struck, but some bullets manage to hit his abdomen, however, he continues his attack, and very suddenly, he points a finger at Chen and encases her inside a yellow bubble.

Chen shouts "hey! What's this!? Get me out of here! Budou~! Budou, help!"

Budou is curled up into a ball and hiding herself under her wings, trembling and looking at Chen with terror in her purple eyes.

S-Kyo uses his spider legs to get closer to Budou, making her so afraid, she starts to cry and her nose starts dripping.

Budou thinks "no! I'm too scared. Papa! Papa, where are you?"

She suddenly stops shaking and just stares on as S-Kyo towers in front of her as she thinks "all I ever do is cry and hide. Why do I do that? I am strong! I can fight. I know it can!"

Phredia flies right in front of S-Kyo and gets trapped inside the same yellow bubble.

Budou stands firm and shouts "I'm not gonna cry! I am strong too. I can beat you!"

S-Kyo smirks, then points his finger at her, but Budou expands her wings, making herself look bigger, and starts to scream, creating a powerful sonar that bursts the yellow bubbles, freeing Chen and Phredia, and the vibration of the sound causes all the machines, including S-Kyo's spider legs, to malfunction.

Then, while he screams and calls for help, she points an open palm at him, arching her body a little and flapping her wings violently and fires a large light-lilac laser that strikes S-Kyo and sends him flying against the wall, breaking ever single gadget he has hidden inside his coat and knocking him out cold.

When Budou stops, she realizes she single-handedly defeated the shadow, then smiles and jumps in place, shouting "I did it, I did it! Chen, Phredia, look, I beat the bad man!"

Chen joins Budou by hugging her and jumping along with her and shouting "yeah, I knew you could do it! Now the others will have to respect us all!"

Phredia smiles, then, after Budou and Chen stop bouncing, she gets close to the little bat's face and kisses her nose. Budou excitedly says "let's go and get papa now!"

Chen nods, and Phredia smiles, then flies along as Budou and Chen run to get Ail's cage.

-

After entering the room again, all the screens, keyboards and buttons are again in place, and Budou's eyes expand and twirl as she says "shiny, sparkly and blinky~!"

Chen shouts "hey, we have to get out of here before-!"

The door to the corridor opens up, and standing on the open doorway is Sanae, who asks "before what, young lady?"

Chen and Phredia both flinch after hearing Sanae's voice.

Chen hides her tails between her legs and forces a nervous smile and says "err, miss Sanae, hi. We were just, er."

Budou continues to look around, ignoring Sanae and Chen and asks "where's those buttons. I want the buttons... I want to see what they do~!"

Sanae raises her voice and asks "young lady, are you ignoring me?"

Realizing Sanae is there, Budou stops for a moment, then covers half of herself with her right wing, and looking through one eye over said wing she nervously says "hi... mama."

Sanae is about to start scolding the two girls, but when she sees Ail in Budou's hands she gasps and asks "y-you three saved Ail?"

From the other door, carrying the monitor and keyboard Budou is looking for, S-Kyo says "I'm sorry lady Rikako, but I lost to them, so I had to give our specimen up."

From behind Sanae, Rikako sighs and says "that's fine... I lost too."

Sanae smiles and calmly says "well then, I guess we'll be leaving then! Come one Chen, Budou. And don't think you're off the hook. You're both going to get punished for disobeying."

Chen and Budou slump and say at the same time "aww~ That's so unfair!" as Sanae says "come on, let's get going."

S-Kyo gets closer to Sanae and hands the heavy equipment and whispers in her ears.

Sanae smiles and giggles, then says "I'm sure Ail will know how to make this work out there, so don't you worry."

S-Kyo smiles, the pats Budou on the head, just as she passes by, then says "you're a good kid. Don't change."

Budou giggles, then says "you seem nice for a bad man."

S-Kyo sweats, but says nothing.

Outside, the moon is just about to set, signaling morning is close.

Chen, Budou, Phredia and Sanae, carrying the heavy equipment walk out the underground door.

Mima and Kogasa turn around, Kogasa smiling and asking "nee-san, Budou, Chen. What kept you?"

Sanae sighs and says "hold this." then hands Kogasa the monitor.

Kogasa struggles to keep on her feet, saying "thi-... this is heavy!"

Sanae gets closer to Mima, who points at the keyboard and asks "what's that?"

Sanae smiles and whispers in Mima's ear, then Mima laughs and says "I guess heretics can be nice, huh?"

S-Kyo arranges his small round glasses and says "that was uncalled for" but Rikako is clenching her teeth and grabs a few metal orbs and a gun and shouts "that's it, you are going to GET IT!"

Mima laughs, saying "ha-ha~! You're so slow. Come and get me~!" while floating away from Rikako, who continues to shoot at Mima, shouting "come back here! Come BACK here and apologize!"

Mima pulls her lower eyelid and sticks out her tongue, then flies away with Reimu in her hands, saying "no way. See you guys later~!"

Sanae smiles at S-Kyo, then at the angry Rikako, then waves and says "well, we should be going back to the shrine now. Remember, if you try that again, I'll be using this gohei for more than just driving away spiri~ts."

Rikako flinches and her face turns blue as she fakes a smile and says "err, sure. Won't happen again."

Sanae smiles again, then lifts to the air, saying "Kogasa, Chen, Budou, let's go."

Kogasa complains "nee-san... this is too heavy!" so Chen smiles and says "I'll help you."

Kogasa smiles while sparkles surround her and Chen's face, then says "thank you~!"

Budou flies after Sanae with Ail in her hands, then asks "mama? What's that?"

Sanae giggles and smiles, then says "after you and Chen are done with your punishment, I'll tell you."

Budou turns her eyes to her left, away from Sanae, pouts and says "aww~! Not even cuz I saved papa."

-

Morning at Entei.

S-Reisen readies herself to leave the room, when she turns around and taps a large bump in the bed and says "the black rabbit's in the drawer. As promised, I left her for you."

She turns around very suddenly, making her long hair swirl around her.

She places both hands on the back of her hair and fluffs it, then unbuttons the top of her shirt, saying "I don't know how that girl does it, but these clothes are suffocating me."

Before she leaves the room, she first sticks her head out and spots Eirin in the kitchen, peacefully eating a snack.

S-Reisen's eyes glow aquamarine as she wickedly smirks, then suddenly hides just as Eirin turns to face the door and asks "is someone there?"

S-Reisen thinks "this old gal is going to be tough, but even she will eventually succumb."

Eirin continues her way to her clinic, calling "Udonge, I need your help! Please be at the clinic in 20 minutes, or I'll have to punish you!"

Anger swells in S-Reisen's heart as she prepares herself, holding her left hand like a gun, then she jumps out of the room, rolls on the ground, then points at the living room, hoping to kill Eirin now, but she is already opening the door to the clinic.

S-Reisen bares her teeth in anger and spits to her right, saying to herself "I'll get you yet, you hag. Better check on that stupid princess."

Still holding her hand as if holding a gun, S-Reisen slowly walks down the long, dark corridor to Kaguya's room, and while she does, a strange brown hat with a pair or eyes scurries right through, ignoring S-Reisen.

She stares at it for a bit, but shakes her head and says "I guess I used too much of my powers here. Gotta be more careful with that."

She reaches Kaguya's room without further interruption, then slides the door open, finding Kaguya curling herself up in a corner of her room, trembling, yet saying "ahh~, so pretty. I wanna fly too~."

S-Reisen smirks and says "pathetic princess."

She walks closer to Kaguya as quickly as she can, points her finger, and then the sound of a blast and a gushing sound echoes outside the room.

With her hand stained in a bit of blood, S-Reisen smiles as she closes the princess' room, saying "sweet dreams, nuisance."

She looks with purpose toward the living room and says "two down, two more to go."

As she walks back down the corridor to head outside, she thinks "this feels so satisfying. I'm sure as hell, killing that ancient hag will feel even better. Pheh! I hope that girl is having as much fun doing this.... Bah, what am I saying. She's dying for payback!"

-

Inside Reisen's room, the real Reisen gets up from the bed, wearing S-Reisen's brown shirt, though buttoned at the top, looking sadly toward the drawer and placing one hand on her face, sighing and saying "what have I done? I should have said no in the first place... but she's right. They deserve this. They should have treated me better!"

She sits at the edge of the bed and whispers "no turning back."

She gets up and slowly walks toward the drawer.

Her heart starts racing, feeling anxiety as she places her hand on the drawer's handle.

Again, she hesitates. Something inside her tells her to stop, but her shadow's words repeat themselves in her mind.

"They don't respect you. They never have, and never will!"

Reisen comes out of her thoughts and with determination, she opens the drawer and finds Tewi, tied up and gagged inside.

She pulls the black rabbit out of the drawer by force, then unties the gag, and sounding relieved, Tewi says "oh, Reisen, it's really you! You have to help me! Your shadow did this to me. We have to finish her now and-!"

Reisen points her finger on Tewi's forehead, whiles still holding her up.

Tewi, concernedly asks "Reisen? Wha-what's going on?"

Reisen's eyes are blank as she says "respect. Love. Friendship? Did you consider yourself my friend, or was I always your toy?"

Reisen's fingers starts glowing red at the tip.

Through Tewi's mind, many thoughts rush through at the speed of light.

Nervously she asks "wh-what's the matter? Reisen, we have to stop that shadow. Who knows what she might-"

Abruptly, Reisen says "I teamed up with my shadow to kill you all, because she is right. Not one of you respects me. I am just your punch-line; your little amusement for cheap laughs at the expense of my health and well-being."

Tewi is now uncertain if Reisen is there to kill her, or to save her.

She tries to look into Reisen's eyes, but she's hiding them under the shadow of her hair.

Tewi starts to cry and says "Reisen, you are wrong. You know I like you! That's why I like playing tricks on you! I mean, how else am I going to get your attention!? You're stronger than me, and more mature, and cool and..."

A tear drops from Reisen's left eye as she says "goodbye, Tewi. I'll miss your pranks."

The tip of Reisen's finger glows brighter and brighter. Tewi closes her eyes tight and clenches her teeth, awaiting the worse, but nothing happens.

She slowly opens her eyes, expecting a sudden attack by Reisen, but instead, she spots tears coursing down the white moon rabbit's cheeks.

She desperately says "Reisen, please think about it! We are family; YOUR family!"

Reisen lets go of Tewi, letting her fall to the floor, and very aggressively, she jumps on her and forces her finger on the black rabbit's forehead and while crying she says "I must. If I let you go, you'll only disrespect me more; make mas... that nurse punish me again so you can all laugh and laugh!"

Reisen starts to tremble and shouts "I HATE YOU! I hate you all!"

Tewi shouts back "how can you say that!? We are family! You know we all love you! Kyah!"

A loud explosion catches S-Reisen's ear, and she smirks and says "one more to go."

-

At the clinic, Eirin hears the explosion and quickly gets up to investigate, but she suddenly feels as though her legs are bending and twisting and falls to the floor.

She closes her eyes and feels as though her entire body is now twisting around, as if being molded like clay.

She opens her eyes again to discover the entire floor waving around, the shelves grow wings and start to fly around the room, spilling all the vials and drugs all over the floor.

Some vials break, while others bounce like balls, and others float in the air along with some magazines, newspapers and other small ornaments.

Eirin closes her eyes again and rubs both sides of her head and says "Eirin, calm down. This is all in your mind. You have to fight it, Eirin!"

The door to the clinic blows up and starts flying around her, then she looks up and sees Reisen's silhouette.

In reality, S-Reisen has merely opened the door, and is smiling wickedly at Eirin.

Eirin covers her eyes with her hand and says "U-Udonge, help me! Someone's cast a spell on me; I can't move!"

S-Reisen's eyes glow aquamarine again as she snickers, then says "you stupid old fool. Age has certainly clouded your vision. HAHAHA You didn't even notice my hair is darker then the REAL Reisen... master... HAHAHA~"

Eirin struggles to speak as her organs now feel as if they are being twisted against each other "tha-that can't be. I scoped you. Your genetic code matched. You even helped me deal with my shadow!"

S-Reisen scoffs and says "well, I just wanted you to deal with her... or the other way around. It didn't matter to me in the least. Either way, I was gonna kill you; and now that you are defenseless, it's gonna be so easy. But... I want to savor this. The wise and powerful hag, Eirin Yagokoro, lying on the ground next to my feet and BEGGING for help."

Eirin tries to reach for the shadow, but to her, S-Reisen is like a cloud in the shape of Reisen, and so, she can't feel when she brushes the shadow's legs.

S-Reisen laughs hard and says "give it up, granny. My power has your brain turned to mush. Turning senile is a common age-related illness. Just stay there and accept your death."

Eirin asks "how? Reisen's powers shouldn't affect me!"

S-Reisen kicks Eirin on her abdomen, making her roll away and gasping for air.

Clenching her teeth, balling both hands into a fist, and glaring dangerously at Eirin, S-Reisen shouts "don't you DARE demean me and Reisen! THIS is why we want you DEAD! You disrespect us and HUMILIATE us, punishing us for making silly mistakes, or because that pain in our side, Tewi, manages to mess us up!"

Eirin catches a breath of air and says "Udongue... would NEVER... want to kill me!"

S-Reisen grabs Eirin by her hair and pulls hard on her to see into her eyes, but Eirin only sees two aqua glints on front of her.

S-Reisen says "how do you think I know so much about you, that princess, about this mansion, about your schedules, your daily LIVES!? Reisen has been on my side since the day she and I became two separate beings."

Eirin opens her eyes and mouth wide, then S-Reisen lets her go, letting her face hit the floor.

Eirin manages to ignore the throbbing pain and says "I don't believe you."

S-Reisen chuckles and says "no? Well, why not ask her yourself, then?"

The door to the clinic slowly opens up, and standing in the doorway is Reisen, looking sadly at Eirin.

Eirin is able to see the bright silhouette of Reisen, but realizes there are two now, gasping with shock upon this realization.

Reisen's voice cracks as she sniffles and says "m-master."

-

Eirin can't believe her eyes and ears.

Reisen, in league with S-Reisen, plotting her death.

She clenches her fists so hard her hands turn white and asks "why?"

Reisen doesn't answer, but S-Reisen steps in and says "you, that princess and that rabbit made every single day for us a living hell! We just want revenge."

Reisen quietly walks over to Eirin, then kneels down and with a very sad look in her eyes and in a gentle tone she says "master... you really hurt me. You really made me feel like I was worthless to you. All I did wasn't good enough, and that really hurt. More than anything."

Eirin manages to grab Reisen by her shirt and asks "how can you say that?"

She lets go of the moon rabbit, feeling dizzy, weak and just about ready to throw up, then says "you are my apprentice. You know I just want you to do your best. That is why I punish you; because you don't USE you full potential. I know it hurts, but that's the only way anyone can achieve their best. Like polishing a precious jewel, Reisen. You need to break the rough edges and polish it thoroughly to bring out it's shine and beauty."

Before Eirin is able to continue, S-Reisen finds the whip Eirin constantly uses to punish Reisen, and with a small smirk and a quick chuckle, she walks to Eirin and starts beating her with the whip, shouting "do you like that? How does it feel, old hag!?"

She start's mocking Eirin, mimicking her voice and saying "look at me, I'm polishing this old hag. Let's see if she still shines. Oops, it seems she's past her prime! We're gonna have to get RID of her! Hahahaha!"

Reisen closes her eyes shut and tries to cover her ears while crawling away from Eirin as her shadow beats her with the whip.

S-Reisen stops and looks at Reisen.

Her eyes stop glowing and go back to red, then says "stand up, Reisen! You can't back down now. Only now, at the end, she respects you... respects US! I told you this would get messy, but it's only at first! After today, no one will ever disrespect you again!"

Reisen continues to looks away, curled up into a ball while holding her ears down, then suddenly, she lets go of her ears and slowly uncurls herself with realization in her eyes.

She stands up with her back to Eirin and S-Reisen, and whispers "I understand."

She turns around with determination in her eyes and says "alright then, you give me that! I am going to finish this once and for all!"

S-Reisen smiles and says "now you're talking, girlfriend! Here!"

S-Reisen walks to Reisen, hands her the whip, then says "go wild."

Reisen smiles wickedly and says "sure. Before I do, though..."

Reisen walks past her shadow and kneels next to Eirin again.

She pulls a long white cloth from her pocket and gently says "I'm sorry master... for all that's happened. But this all had to happen. It was just inevitable."

She gently wraps the cloth around Eirin's eyes and tightens it so it doesn't fall off.

Eirin asks "U-Udonge, what's going on? What are you doing?"

Reisen finishes tying up the blindfold, raises Eirin's head and kisses her forehead, then whispers "goodbye, master." then gently lets go of Eirin's head and gets up.

She raises the whip above her head and surrounds it with her energy as S-Reisen simply smiles and says "girl, you are a saint. If it had been me, I'd just let her see everything until the end. Ahh yeah, let her think she's senile, watching floors fly by, just as she dies."

Reisen's face twists with rage as she readies herself to unleash her attack, and in a very sudden impulse, she flings the whip.

Outside the clinic, a loud crack and a woman's shriek unsettles the seemingly peaceful surroundings.

-

Inside the clinic, Reisen holds the whip, staring on with fury at her target.

Eirin lies on the floor, blindfolded and sweating, and S-Reisen stares with rage, clenching her teeth and holding the tip of the whip, using her own aquamarine energy to push back Reisen's red energy.

S-Reisen pulls hard on the whip and angrily asks "what the hell are you doing, you fool!?"

Reisen pulls back, trying to keep control of the weapon, and says "this woman... these people took me in when I first came in to this world. They gave me food, gave me a new life, they protected me, took care of me, gave me a new name. They are my family."

S-Reisen smiles and says "we had a deal, Udonge!"

Reisen replies "I don't care! But that doesn't mean I'm just gonna let you kill me!"

From the floor, Eirin whispers "Udonge, what's happening?"

S-Reisen continue to smile wickedly and says "that's too bad, little rabbit. Say hi to the black one for me when you see, her, ok?"

She opens her eyes wide, making them glow aquamarine, making Reisen flinch and let go of the whip.

Reisen tries to keep on her feet, but the floor, the walls, and even herself, feel as though have been turned into jelly.

Her strength fails her and she falls on the ground, sitting against a wall.

She opens her eyes wide as they glow red, but S-Reisen flicks the whip right across Reisen's eyes, making her cry out in pain, then the shadow quickly jumps with her knees on Reisen's stomach, making her cough out a bit of blood, then points her finger directly under Reisen's chest and smiling wickedly she says "your solar plexus. Enjoy your last moments in life... if you can."

Reisen shouts as S-Reisen fires an aquamarine bullet directly on Reisen's skin, creating a hole on the brown shirt and a black burn mark on the skin.

Reisen lies motionless against the wall, her eyes open and empty as her body twitches uncontrollably.

Eirin shouts "Udongue!? Udonge answer me! ...Reisen!"

S-Reisen sighs, casually gets off Reisen and stands back up, then scoffs and says "so, only after she dies you call her by her real name. Tsk tsk. What a pity. But this was going to happen eventually, you know."

Eirin's face turns red with rage as she breathes through clenched teeth and asks "what do you mean?"

S-Reisen says "well, once I fixed this pathetic excuse for a life this girl had, I was going to kill her too. After that, I'm going to marry that human, Ail. *Sigh* The only one that's been truly kind to us... well, me actually. That other one's dead now."

Eirin feels her blood boiling all through her body as she angrily shouts "you selfish, evil little rabbit. I'm going to have to punish you!"

S-Reisen smiles and says "ooh, a senior moment? You can't move, old lady; my powers of demency have rendered you as dangerous as a common cockroach. Now..."

S-Reisen shapes her hand like a gun and points her finger at Eirin, then says "you've suffered enough, so I think it's time for you to die."

She fires an aquamarine bullet the size of Eirin's body, and just before it hits, Eirin rolls away and pulls out her bow and arrows from under her desk.

S-Reisen's face turns blue after realizing Eirin is moving about again.

Eirin immediately aims and fires her arrow, but S-Reisen manages to duck in time.

Eirin says "you are lucky I'm blindfolded!"

S-Reisen desperately asks "how, how in the HELL? You shouldn't even be STANDING!"

Eirin smirks and says "with this blind-fold on, I am no longer affected by your powers. Now, time for your special punishment!"

Eirin fires another arrow that turns into a blue beam that spreads blue and black bullets along it's trail.

S-Reisen runs to the exit, thinking "damn that girl. Even I didn't know this weakness! How did she know!? No matter. I have to get out of here if I want a fighting chance!"

-

S-Reisen manages to break through the door and escape the clinic, just as Eirin's attack strikes her back.

Holding her back in pain, S-Reisen shouts "dammit, that old hag packs a punch!"

Eirin, still blind-folded, comes out of the clinic and says "you'll find I pack more than just a punch!"

Eirin fires an arrow to the sky that turns into a red laser that explodes into many more lasers that rain down on S-Reisen.

The shadow manages to narrowly dodge the attack, then pulls out a black spell card and says "both your princess and ally are dead, and the REAL Reisen is out of my way. I won't lose now! Visionary Wave - Mind Blowing!"

S-Reisen expels a heavy concentration of bullets in a circle around her, then uses her demency eyes to cause an illusionary effect of more bullets.

However, unlike Reisen, the extra bullets have no effect, and simply go through Eirin, causing no damage.

Eirin smiles and says "first of all, young lady, Udonge's spells don't affect me as easily. Second, YOUR powers, unlike Udonge's, only make an illusion, so anything you may try will be as easy to dodge as a certain ice faerie's easy spell."

After saying that, Eirin easily dodges S-Reisen's real bullets without need of her eyes, as the bullets are so spread apart, Eirin has room to walk at lest three feet between them.

Eirin fires another arrow that misses the shadow by an inch, then shouts "it's just a matter of time. One more time, and you're dead!"

S-Reisen thinks "this is not fair. I was so close. No choice. I'll got for a direct attack!"

She starts screaming as she runs to Eirin with her eyes glowing aquamarine.

Eirin feels she's close and dodges to her left, then S-Reisen says "GOT YOU!" and veers to her right, placing herself right on track to strike Eirin, but a washtub strikes the shadow right between the eyes, making her fall on her back next to Eirin and screaming "my eyes! Dammit, my eye~s! I can't see~!"

Blood starts trailing down her right cheek from her eye, and from the mansion, Tewi shouts "princess, do it now!"

From above Eirin, Kaguya shouts "End of Imperishable Night -Half Past 3-"

From all around her, Kaguya expels blue shard danmaku bullets in straight lines at ridiculous speeds, changing the position of the danmaku lines with each attack by just a little.

S-Reisen manages to open her left eye in time to dodge the first three barrages, but then Kaguya fires extra-large red orbs to her left and right, that home in on the shadow, confusing her and allowing Kaguya to strike her hard and blow her away from Eirin.

Tewi says "Eirin, you can take that off now."

S-Reisen is hurt very badly, but she still manages to stand up on her feet and shout "NO~! You are DEAD! you are supposed to be dead; I blasted your head off, princess!"

Kaguya chuckles and says "I'm immortal you fool. And you're going to pay for that dress you stained."

Tewi says "Reisen was never on your side! She loves her family more than you will ever understand!"

Eirin takes off her blind-fold and stares at S-Reisen, then says "I don't know how you managed to fool me so easily, but it doesn't matter now. Today there will be one less shadow."

S-Reisen flinches and bares her clenched teeth, ready to dodge Eirin's arrow, but from behind Eirin, Reisen stumbles out of the clinic, holding her abdomen in pain, and looks at S-Reisen, activating her lunatic eyes, then says "you're not dodging that one!"

Eirin fires her arrow, turning it into a single blue beam that uses Reisen's powers and splits momentarily into 8 beams, then all beams coil together, forming a beam as large as Marisa's Final Spark, and just before the beam hits, S-Reisen shouts "curse you all to the depths of hell!"

The beam strikes her hard, breaking her body into pieces and turning it into black dust that burns inside the beam, and before her head vanishes, she says "I die now, but you, Reisen, will always be a pathetic slave who will only be stepped on for as long as you live!"

The shadow's head finally turns to dust, and then, silence.

-

Reisen manages to stumble right in front of Eirin, using the last bit of strength left in her, then she drops to her kneed and looks down to the floor.

Everyone keeps quiet, then Reisen asks "you are going to kill me now, aren't you?"

Nobody answers her, then she continues "I plotted against you, tried to kill you all, lost myself for some time, and almost succeeded in killing you, master. I accept responsibility for my action. I just ask that you kill me quickly."

Eirin kneels next to Reisen, and staring with a strict and angry expression, she grabs Reisen's face and slaps the white rabbit on the cheek, then embraces her, saying "for now... that will be all."

At first, Reisen thinks Eirin might stab her with an arrow, or blast her point-blank with one of her spells, but instead, she finds herself hugging her back and shedding some tears along with Eirin.

Tewi and Kaguya join in, and quietly group-hug under the hot summer sun.

At the Hakurei Shrine, dog-Reimu finally wakes up and looks around, finding Mima and Rika arguing about something.

She lifts her ears and hears Mima saying "why would I abduct her when she's right there!? I already told you it was Kyo's shadow!"

Rika replies "well you should have woken me up!"

Mima replies "I'm not your nanny!"

Rika sighs and says "fine, fine."

She notices Reimu is awake and says "oh, my lady! Good afternoon. I'm so glad you're finally awake!"

Reimu asks "what this about S-Kyo, and abducting me?"

Mima and Rika look at each other, then Mima smiles and says "I'll tell you, but first you have to kiss my cheek!"

Reimu violently punches Mima on the cheek, sending her flying in the air and down hard to the ground, then Rika nervously smiles and says "wow, my lady, you are so strong."

Reimu exhales, but doesn't respond, staring at Rika with her small dark eyes.

At the Moriya Shrine, Ran flies down and immediately spots Sanae, sitting on the porch with dog Ail on her lap.

Ran smiles and says "good afternoon miss Sanae. I've come to pick up Chen."

Sanae smiles and says "good afternoon, miss Ran. Chen? She's over there, washing some clothes with Budou."

Ran asks "why. Did she misbehave?"

Sanae smiles and says "no, no, she was a perfect little angel. Sadly, she was a little misguided by some naughty goddesses."

Ran asks "what?"

Sanae points inside the kitchen where Kanako and the hat-less Suwako are washing a mountain of dishes.

Kanako complains "I'm so TIRED of this."

Suwako adds "Sanae, you don't have to be so mean!"

Sanae angrily replies "you put those two in danger, so that is what you get, you irresponsible goddesses."

From outside, Budou shouts "oh no, look out!" and inside the house, an old silver washtub falls from the ceiling on Suwako's head, who stands stiff for a moment and says "I'm starting to hate these washtubs" then falls on the floor, while Kanako only stares casually.

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Budou and Phredia were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot 2010

DEC 7 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

Random Sukima Interview part 7

Interviewer: Willie G.R.

Translator: Yukari Yakumo

WGR: Welcome back to another Random Sukima interview. Please, say hello to our lovely, yet somewhat naughty translator, Yukari Yakumo.

YY: Are you still sore about that? I told you, I only told Reimu and Mystia. Besides, lots of people fall off trees on their backs and laugh maniacally after hitting the floor.

WGR: *blush* Would you just shut up!? Let's just get on with this! Mister Sukima, welcome. Ready for aonther round of questions?

RS: *#)%%$JGN

YY: "Ready as always."

WGR: Well, mister Sukima, please tell us about Eirin's taste.

RS: BLECH!!! %)*_)^ V !HG! HR##HTGI

YY: "Blech!!! She tasted just like an old spicy taco. So disgusting." And honestly I agree.

WGR: *sweat* Err, miss Yukari, please, let's avoid any unnecessary confrontations. And so, mister Sukima, it seems to me you don't like spicy foods. I don't blame you. So, how about Kyo?

RS: *SCREECH* $!)$^&$#!!! %$)#^*( !!! _%*_JFQ!!!

YY: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA He says "Oh my goodness, it was just horrible!!! He tasted like sewer water!!! UGH, I can still remember how dizzy and sick I felt!"

WGR: Pffft! HAHAHAHAHA~! Mi-mister Sukima, you certainly don't hold back! Well, thank you for joining us today. Please, join us next time for ano... (the building started to tremble, and a loud thunderous sound unsettled us all inside. Safe to say, many of us were carried away in ambulances. The ice cream was good though.)


	20. Chapter 19

Morning at the Moriya Shrine.

Dog Ail wags his tail as he finishes plugging in the keyboard to the monitor S-Kyo gave to Budou.

Ail says "I am very impressed with this. The computer itself is in the keyboard and doesn't even need cooling equipment."

Sanae sweats and says "you know what you are saying."

Ail replies "heh, to put it simply, this is VERY advanced stuff. Now, all we have to do is place this stone here, and..."

Ail grabs a translucent piece of quartz crystal from the floor and places it inside the power supply of the computer, carefully placing two cables on precise points of the crystal, then closing the compartment tight, the computer is switched on and the keyboard shines with blue lights, just as Budou enters the room, rubbing her sleepy eyes along with Phredia, who somberly flies to the table and grabs a piece of bread to eat.

Budou somberly says "good morning mama. Good morning papa. What are you...?"

Sanae smiles and says "good morning Budou."

Ail adds "we just finished installing that nice shadow's gift for you. You should be able to-"

Budou wakes up with a jolt and while flapping her wings with excitement she screams "EEEEEEE! The shiny buttons!!!"

She runs so fast toward it, even Ail can't follow her.

Both he and Sanae watch as Budou slowly lowers her trembling hand, eager to press that small key and see what it does.

As she does, Sanae asks "Budou, what do you say when someone does something nice for you?"

Budou sits on the floor and taps the keyboard incredibly fast, then turns aside and reveals an image of herself inside the monitor, waving and smiling while saying "thank you very much, mama and papa"

Ail and Sanae look at each other with surprise, then Ail asks "how did you..?"

Budou calmly says "I used the animation program, and while making the animation, I made a digital copy of my voice, then added some more colors while animating the eyes and hands."

Both Ail and Sanae are awestruck and unable to say another word, but then Ail gasps and says "oh no, this computer has access to the internet from outside. They could track us..."

Budou calmly says "I entered the modem's program and blocked them from ever tracking us. I bet they won't even notice us anymore. Furthermore, I went and hacked miss Rikako's network and did the same. The fool could have had us discovered!"

Again, Ail is left speechless, his eyes open wide, his pupil gone, and large outlines surround his eyes.

Sanae sweats and asks "ooh, what is that?"

She points to an icon on the monitor and Ail says "ooh look at that. It's a shooting game. A really good one too. It's danmaku based."

Budou points her finger in front of the monitor, making the pointer move along, then Ail says "wow, this is better than touch-screen technology. Look at that!"

Sanae adds "wow, those two have such advanced technology. The Kappas would be ashamed."

From a outside, through a window, Nitori watches with glints in her eyes, smiling widely as she quietly stares on.

The game begins and Ail says "oh, this is a new one. Budou, maybe you want to play on easy mode at first..."

Ignoring Ail, Budou immediately picks Lunatic mode and starts playing.

Worried, Ail says "now Budou, that's the hardest difficulty. Don't cry if you lose too quickly."

To Ail's surprise, Budou manages her character through a curtain of bullets without getting hit once.

Both Ail and Sanae watch with awe as Budou quickly goes through stages with ease.

By now, she's at the final boss of the game, who fills the screen with so many bullets, her character can't be seen, yet Budou manages through the curtain of bullets without getting hit, then beats the game, beating S-Kyo's score of 2,345,687,900, with her own score of 3,989,456,003.

Sanae, Aya and Nitori watch awestruck at the score as Budou calmly says "that was easy."

Sanae says "she's amazing, isn't she, Ail? Ail?"

Sanae and Aya look around for Ail, then spot him in a corner with his tail between his legs and whimpering.

Phredia pats his head and tries to offer him a piece of bread.

Sanae stares on, then says "I think he lost more than just his pride there."

Aya closes her eyes and silently nods.

-

Near the Human Village, Agava, Rumia and Flandre, apparently out of work, stalk three young humans, two men and a woman, that have just left the village with large empty sacks and buckets on their hands, complaining about having to do chores.

They follow the humans all the way to the Misty Lake and wait, while the girl collects herbs and grains, and the men collect water.

Flandre giggles, unsettling the humans and signaling Rumia and Agava to take their positions.

The human girl says "err... I think we better get going now."

From the trees, Rumia's voice echoes "is that so~!?"

Agava adds "well, please, don't mind us."

Flandre adds "we just want to play~ with you. *giggle*"

The three humans press their backs against each other, looking all around them and whimpering.

One of the men asks "who-who are you!? Show yourself!"

Agava's voice echoes as she says "my, oh my, what a brave young man we-- hey, what' the hell? Wait, what, the-? *cough cough* No, let me go!"

The three humans look confused toward the source of the voice, and very suddenly, Agava falls from the tree on her back, making Flandre giggle and says "what's the matter, Agava? Can't keep your balance!?"

Agava gets lifted to the air and shouts "guys, help! I can't move!"

Rumia says "but I can see you moving there."

Flandre chuckles and says "cut the act. You already ruined the prank anyway."

Agava now floats upside-down and shouts "guys, help! Something's manipulating me!"

Agava spins in the air with her hands and legs spread widely, then suddenly stops, revealing her eyes spinning in place and dizzily saying "whoa.... I think I might hurl."

Flandre starts laughing as she slowly descends from the tree and sits with her back to it, holding her belly as her laugh progresses.

Rumia descends slowly to the ground and says "wow, you're acrobatic, aren't you?"

Agava now spins counter-clockwise, curled up into a ball, then stops, and bends down, facing away from the humans.

Agava asks "w-what's going on?" and very suddenly, her shorts drop down, revealing a teddy bear print pair of panties.

Agava screams "Kyaaah! No, no, don't LOOK! Ahh, why is this happening!?"

Flandre continues to laugh hard, holding her abdomen with both hands and dropping to the floor.

The two men stare straight at Agava, so the girl grabs their noses, getting their attention, then slaps them across the face, saying "perverts!"

Agava finally drops to the ground and manages to pull her shorts back up as she manages to get back on her feet, and glaring at the laughing blond vampire, she shouts "you little imp! Why didn't you help me!?"

Flandre laughs and says "this is- hahahaha! This is payback, hahahahaha!"

Agava raises her fist, ready to strike Flandre, but she suddenly stops, then breaks apart.

Her legs fall on one side, her arms on another, her torso falls next to Rumia, then her head starts bouncing on the ground as she shouts "go-o-o-o-o-nna hu-u-u-url!"

Flandre laughs so hard, tears fall from her eyes like large waterfalls as she says "no more, hahahaha! I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, HAHA~ HAHAHA!"

Finally, everything stops, and Agava's head rolls to a tree, stopping by it's roots.

Her torso manages to catch up and places her head back, but when she realizes it, her head is on her left leg, while her right hand is on her head, and her left hand is on her left leg, and both legs are on her arms.

Agava sighs and asks "what did I do to deserve this?"

By now, Flandre is joined in laughter by the three humans, all rolling on the ground as Agava re-accommodates her entire body, looking sadly and saying "that's not funny!"

-

After finally arranging herself, Agava's face turns bright red when she realizes the humans have left, laughing as they head back to the village and commenting on her underwear.

She turns to face Flandre, Rumia and Koishi, who happens to be standing there, causally smiling and waving back at Agava, making the shadow youkai blush even more, then shouts "you didn't see anything!!!"

Koishi winks and sticks out her tongue, saying "oh yes I di~d."

Flandre trembles as she tries to stop herself from laughing, but seeing Agava's face makes her laugh hard again, saying "sto-stop looking at me. You're gonna kill me, hahahaha!"

Agava opens her mouth wide, ready to spill out some well-earned curses at Flandre, but she stops, looking surprised as a laugh echoes from behind her; a laugh very similar to her own, only more malevolent.

She turns around and sees a pale skinned teen-aged girl with long wavy white hair and red eyes, wearing a gold necklace, and an open dark-blue vest with silver borders over a purple sleeveless shirt and a long black skirt that covers her legs.

The girl laughs some more and says "so this is the mighty Agava? The once powerful evil entity bent on destroying mankind? What a disappointment!"

Agava clenches her fists and bears her clenched teeth, saying "why you-! Who the HELL are you!?"

Flandre casually says "oh please, stop acting dumb. That's your shadow!"

Agava stares at the girl dumbfounded for a moment, then says "wait... you're the shadow of a shadow? Does that even make sense?"

Rumia smiles as she says "ma~y~be!"

S-Agava laughs, then says "pathetic! I'm so glad I changed my name. But even so, I still have to get rid of you!"

Before Agava responds, S-Agava shouts "Shadow Morph!"

When she goes into shadow form, her hair stays white, her eyes glow blood-red without pupils, her gold necklace stays with her, just as it was in her human form, and her vest turns black with gold borders.

She morphs into a shadow snake with a white line on it's back, then coils itself around Agava's shadow, lifting her to the air and squeezing her hard, braking her into three parts. Head, torso, and legs.

Agava's head looks around, then looks at Rumia, who is the only one watching, and shouts "could you help me already!?"

Rumia only stares with a wicked smile on her face, and doesn't respond.

S-Agava shouts "argh! I can't kill you? What the hell are you!?"

Agava is about to reply, but Rumia interrupts, saying "hey, you! Shadow of the shadow!"

S-Agava's eyes glow, then hisses, takes human-like shape and says "call me Kali!"

Rumia's eyes glow red for a moment, and a dark aura spins around her, looking like small saws on the ground.

In a demanding tone, Rumia says "you are no different. The deal I made with her..." she furiously points at Agava , then back at Kali as she says "...applies to YOU!"

Confidently, Kali waves her arms in front of Rumia's face and says "kid, just keep quiet, or I might have to hurt you."

Rumia stands quiet, staring back with narrow eyes at Kali.

She grabs the small ribbon on her head and quickly pulls it off, and immediately, she opens her eyes as they glow bright red, and darkness surrounds her and only the glow from her eyes pass through; and just like that, everything stops.

Rumia's hair grows longer, her fangs are sharper, her body grown to that of a teenager and she grows a large pair of black wings.

She smirks at Kali as a small bit of darkness to her right releases a dark long broad sword from below the ground, and as soon as she grabs it and holds it across her own face with one hand, she smiles and asks "is that so?"

-

Kali stares with surprise, but hides it by casually saying "so you transformed. Big deal."

Her spell card times out, yet she remains in her shadow form and says "if this is what you want, I won't hold back, kid!"

She pulls another spell card from under her white hair and shouts "Shadow Morph."

Kali takes the shape of a giant bird with a white beak and quickly thrusts it straight to Rumia's face.

Rumia smirks and surrounds herself in a small dark blob that quickly spreads around, covering an entire block with it, and by doing so, Kali's shape turns to nothing, and she screams "crap! My powers!"

Rumia's eyes glow bright red, then she jumps high in the air and lunges the tip of her sword straight at Kali's deformed face, but Kali reacts in time and turns back to human, rolling away to safety just before Rumia reaches her, and striking the ground instead.

Rumia slowly straightens herself out and says "as you can see..."

She pulls out the sword from the ground and lifts it, and rests it's broad side on her shoulder.

"...your powers become nothing in my darkness. I mean, what a pathetic ability. Can't create a shadow if there's no light!"

She brandishes her sword, then finishes by standing offensively, holding the sword with it's tip behind her, with it's broadside underneath her forearm and smiling wickedly.

Koishi quietly smiles and thinks "ahh, if there was just some birdie around."

Flandre says "whoa... Rumia, is that you?"

Agava holds her chest and sounding nervous she says "I am SO glad I'm on her good side."

Kali panics; cold sweat runs through her cheeks as Rumia smiles wickedly at her.

She thinks "dammit... I can't fight her like this, but I can't escape either. What should I do?"

Rumia starts her run, bending her dark wings back as she gets closer, and just as she's about to swing her blade, Kali drops on her back and falls inside a hole hidden under leaves, revealing a dark ghostly tail instead of legs under her black skirt.

Rumia clenches her teeth and furiously says "dammit, she escaped!"

Flandre asks "how can you tell?"

Rumia pulls back her darkness and looks toward the lake, saying "she's hiding in the lake. Ugh, we can't go there!"

Flandre asks "Why is that?"

Rumia's ribbon places itself back on her hair, turning her back to normal, as she says "there's someone even more powerful than you."

Agava asks "more powerful than that crazy blond?"

Flandre smiles as she grabs Agava in a headlock, and with a vein pulsating to the left of her forehead she says "this crazy blond will have to teach you some manners." then starts rubbing her head with her fist.

Rumia smiles, then says "we'll get her next time. Let's go, Scarlet Darkness!"

Flandre and Agava stop, then Flandre asks "Scarlet Darkness?"

Rumia says "that's our team name. Scarlet Darkness."

Agava complains, saying "hey~! Who gave you the right?"

Rumia smiles and says "if you want, we can fight."

Agava sweats and nervously smiles and says "Scarlet Darkness it is, boss."

Flandre let's go of Agava, then looks around and asks "did anybody see where that Koishi girl went?"

-

Meanwhile, at Byakuren's temple, Byakuren walks tired and hungry straight to the temple, saying in a wishful tone "a temple. Ohh~, I hope they have food!"

She's hurt, covered in bruises and dirt all over, and her cape is also missing.

When she's close to the temple, from the distance she hears "LADY HIJIRI~~~!"

Byakuren flinches and crouches on the ground, holding her head with her arms as Shou runs from the temple and straight at her, looking like a maniac and hearts floating around her.

There is a sliding noise, and Byakuren feels something holding her left leg, and rubbing it.

Trembling, she peeks over her knees to see Shou holding her leg and contently rubbing her face against it.

Nervously, Byakuren asks "e-excuse me, what are you doing, miss? Is this some sort of temple thing?"

Shou gasps and immediately lets go of Byakuren's leg, then grabs her shoulders, and looking straight into her maple-red eyes she asks "lady Hijiri, did that idiot, Minamitsu let you fall off the ship again!?"

Byakuren stares back at Shou dumbfounded and mumbles "Mina-- who?"

Shou cries "poor Hijiri~!"

She grabs Byakuren's hands and desperately says "come, I'll get you some nice warm tea and-"

Byakuren pulls her hand back and stands in place, staring at Shou from head to toes.

Shou asks "lady Hijiri, is everything ok?"

Byakuren's eyes hide under shadow as her face turns blue, then she trembles as she points at Shou and asks "you? You-you-you're a youkai, aren't you?"

Confused and concerned, Shou places her left hand on her chest and forces a smile as she says "well of course I am. I'm also a g-" but before Shou can finish, Byakuren shouts "YOUKAI~!!!" then runs away toward the Human Village.

Shou stands in place, still placing her left hand on her chest as her eyes turn to two white disks, her right eyes twitching as she asks "lady Hijiri?"

From the distance, Byakuren shouts "I HATE youkai! Get away, you MONSTER!"

Shou's body turns to stone, then cracks and shatters into dust.

Nazrin walks by, walking with her eyes closed and with both hands behind her head and asking "Shou, what's with all the... WHOA!!! Shou! Shou, answer me!"

Shou now sits on the ground with her legs crossed under her dress, her eyes still round white disks and sniffling as tears flow like streams down her cheeks.

She looks at Nazrin in this state, then bawls, making her eyes wiggle in place and crying twin waterfalls "WAAAHHH!! Hijiri hates me~!"

Nazrin, while holding Shou's face on her abdomen, asks "Hijiri?"

She looks toward the running figure of Byakuren, then says "you dummy, that's not our lady Hi-" but Shou runs to the temple, hiding her face with her hands and crying "she hates me~!"

Nazrin sigh then says "idiot. She's so distraught she didn't even notice the shadow aura around that shadow..."

She raises her tail, raising the mouse in the basket hanging from it, placing it in front of her face, and says "we better follow her before she does something stupid."

The little mouse in the basket nods and squeaks.

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Ail and Budou are visiting, Budou playing with her computer inside the shrine along with Phredia, while the dogs, Ail and Reimu, lie on the ground where the sunlight is, sleeping next to each other, curled up into two little balls.

Rika finishes sweeping the front yard, then says "my lady, I'm done with- Oh my, she's asleep."

She smiles angelically, hugging her broom, then quietly walks to the shrine to store the broom, tripping on the wooden porch and falling on her face.

Rubbing her nose as she lifts up, she looks to the dogs, who continue to sleep, then at Budou, who seems to be entranced by the computer, and playing another shooter game she downloaded a few minutes before.

Rika gets back up and says "I gotta be more careful."

After storing the broom, she thinks "well, I've done all possible chores, and cooking lunch now would be a waste... I know. I'll train some more today!"

Smiling, Rika walks to the back of the shrine, away from Ail and Reimu, and while thinking of the colors red and blue, she grabs her spell card and shouts "Oath Keeper!"

While still thinking of the colors of red and blue, she enters the golden gate formed in the air by the spinning card, and upon exiting through the other side, she realizes she has no sword on her.

Confused, she frisks herself and whispers "huh? Wait, where are my swords?"

She turns around, not realizing there are two swords in a crossed sheath on her back.

She sighs and places both hands on her hips, then asks herself "maybe I wasn't concentrating hard enough?"

She's just about to enter the gate again, when Suika casually passes by and seemingly uninterested, says "on your back." then continues on her way.

Rika touches her back and finally realizes she has two swords on her back.

She gasps and smile, then excitedly says "no way!"

She tries to pull hard on the sword to the left, but only manages to make herself spin in the air and land sitting on the ground with a loud thud.

Shocked, Rika asks "what the hell?"

Still sitting, she pulls on both swords at the same time, ripping off the crossed sheaths from her back, along with her shirt, letting out a quick shriek.

To her luck, Aya jumps in front of her, shouting "ayayayaya~~!" covering her as she pulls her shirt off, then quickly puts it back on, looking embarrassed as she does, then Aya flies away again.

She grabs one of the swords by the hilt again, then pulls, but it seems both blades are stuck in the crossed sheathes.

Rika sweats and asks "how am I supposed to train with these?"

-

Back at Byakuren's temple, Ichirin and Nazrin stand in front of Shou's room door, Ichirin shouting "Shou~, come out! That was not Byakuren nee-sama!"

Unzan floats next to Ichirin, and occasionally knocks hard on the door with his fists.

Nazrin shouts "Shou, if you don't come out, I'm giving those pictures to the tengu!"

From inside the room. Shou shouts "why is everyone being so mean to me!? Go away already!"

Nazrin sighs, then looks at Ichirin, who nods, then says "alright, Unzan. Knock it down."

Unzan winds up his fist, but stops when all three hear Minamitsu's voice by the altar, saying "...maybe you are so pure you didn't get a shadow."

They stand quietly, wondering if they are hearing things, but the two girls gasp and Unzan smiles when they hear Byakuren say "I'd love to believe that, but even I have my dark side."

Ichirin and Nazrin say at the same time "it's lady Hijiri~!"

Like lightning, Shou's door opens and strikes the two girls hard on the face as Shou comes out, desperately saying "Hijiri! Lady Hijiri!? Where? Where!?"

She hears Byakuren saying "one time, I instinctively splatted a butterfly that was flying around my face. Though I didn't meant to."

Minamitsu is heard replying in a disappointed undertone "that doesn't count as a bad deed."

Byakuren replies "Mini-chan, how could you say that?"

Hearts fly above Shou's head, and one pops from her tongue, as she says "Hijiri~" and runs to the altar as fast as she can.

The door slowly shuts itself, revealing Ichirin and Nazrin's faces red and flattened, both staring seemingly angry toward Shou, then both fall face-first to the floor, while Unzan stares for a moment, then shrugs and flies to the altar, following Shou.

At the altar, Hijiri is saying "...and every creature, no matter how small, is precious to this world!"

Looking bored, Minamitsu says "ok, ok, I'm sorry."

Knocking a few ornaments, Shou arrives to the altar, her feet skidding on the floor as she stops, smiling and crying as she asks "lady Hijiri, is that you?"

Byakuren looks concerned at Shou and gasps upon seeing Shou's eyes puffed and red, her clothes a little messy, and her hair so unkempt.

She walks closer and says "Shou, what happened to you? Oh my, you poor thing, who DID this to you!?"

Shou runs to Byakuren and hugs her tightly, placing her face on Byakuren's abdomen and bawling "Hijiri~! you're finally ba~~ck! I missed you so much!"

At first, Byakuren is a bit surprised, but then she smiles motherly and brushes Shou's hair with her left hand and says "there, there, it's alright. I'm back. No more crying now, ok?"

With tears in her eyes, Shou looks up at Byakuren's face, looking into her kind hazel eyes, then smiles back and says "it's really you! It's Hijiri."

From the corridor, Unzan, followed by Nazrin and Ichirin arrive, to the altar, both looking enraged and blowing steam from their noses.

Hijiri, while still holding Shou, waves at them and says "I'm back."

Both relax and smile, and when they start to head toward Byakuren, an extra-large silver washtub falls from the ceiling and on their heads, knocking them both out at the same time.

Minamitsu starts laughing, but stops when Byakuren shrieks.

A small moth flies very close to Byakuren's ear, startling her and making her react by smacking it with her hands while in mid-air.

Byakuren gasps and cries "oh no, I did it again. Poor little moth!"

The moth flies erratically to the ground, then glows brightly, expanding in size.

When it stops glowing, it reveals Nue lying on the ground on her stomach with her eyes spinning in place and mumbling incoherently.

Minamitsu holds her abdomen as she starts laughing again, much harder than before, then sounding a bit disappointed, Byakuren says "Mini-chan! Don't be so mean!"

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Rika holds the swords by their hilts, then places on foot on the sheath, and using all her might, she pulls hard on them, hoping to break them free, however, her grip fails and she drops the swords and sheath and stumbles backward, falling on the ground on her back.

Rika sits up in a sudden impulse and lightly growls, then says "what is UP with those two swords!?"

She looks at the shrine's storage house and gasps with a smile, then runs to it.

After some time, she comes out of the storage house with a hammer, a chisel, and a wide triumphant smile.

In just a second, she runs to the swords, leaving a trail of dust behind her, and with a wicked smile, she places the chisel on the center of the sheath, raises the hammer high in the air, then strikes down as hard as she can.

The hammer's head breaks away, flying back to the storage house, but falling on the ground before it reaches it.

The chisel cracks, and although made of metal, it crumbles into pieces.

Rika's eyes open widely, almost popping out of their socket upon seeing this happen.

She relaxes, sighs, then says "great... I broke two of my lady's possessions. Gonna have to buy replacements later."

Rika gasps, and with a smile she whispers "the Saboten Stock" as she taps her left palm with her right fist.

She pulls out her small cube, presses the button on it and out come a small drill, and a large metal mask.

She smiles and giggles, places the mask on, then activates the drill.

She approaches the sheath and swords, then slowly places the drill's tip on the center of the sheath, causing sparks to fly all over, making a very annoying racket.

She continues to drill some more until she notices her drill has caught fire.

She yelps and lets it go, and somehow, the drill continues to work, seemingly running away from the area, heading to the shrine stairs and down to the village.

Rika stares on, awestruck and unable to say another word.

She remembers the sheath and swords, then looks at them, hoping to have made some progress, but the sheathe looked as new as the moment the took it out of the gate.

Rika's face turns a bit red with rage as she growls and says "what IS it with these?"

From the stairs comes Nitori with a strange gun-like item on her hand, smiling and saying "I got the solution for your problem RIGHT here! A high-powered atomic lasers with strawberry scented air freshener."

She runs to Rika and wraps her arms around her neck, placing the laser close to Rika's face, and with a suspicious smile she says "since it's a prototype, I'll let you use it for two cucumbers."

As if in a shady deal, Rika slips two cucumbers to Nitori, looking around suspiciously, while equally suspicious, Nitori hands Rika the gun.

Without wasting another second, Rika runs to the sheath and swords and fires at the center, but the laser misfires and blasts Rika's face instead.

Nitori says "uuu~" then waves her finger at Rika and continues "no refunds." then runs away.

Rika is furious. She grabs the sheathed swords by the hilt and tosses the whole thing at Nitori as she runs away, but to her dismay, the sheath and swords act like a boomerang and return to her, striking her on the head and knocking her down.

-

Rika springs up, growling and looking even angrier.

She grabs the swords and looks as though she's going to try and rip them apart whit her bare hands, when suddenly, she stops and looks at the dogs Reimu and Ail, still sleeping.

She smiles tenderly, walks closer to them while holding the swords, then whistles and says "come on, get the stick, come on! Get the stick! *whistle whistle*"

Both Ail and Reimu raise one ear, then suddenly are barking contently and wagging their tails, jumping around, and immediately chase after Rika's swords the moment she tosses them.

Reimu jumps in the air and grabs them on one side, while Ail grabs the other side when in range, then both start growling as they start a tug-of-war.

For a few minutes, Ail and Reimu continue to pull, when Ail suddenly asks "Heimu, hat ae we oing? (Reimu, what are we doing?)"

Reimu stares back, unamused, and replies "efe ust een ricke. (we've just been tricked.)"

Both let go of the swords at the same time, then Reimu, seemingly calm, walks to Rika, looks at her, then asks "why did you do that?"

Rika smiles nervously and replies "well, you see, I can't seem to separate those swords, so I though-- EEK!"

Reimu bites down on Rika's calf, making Rika tremble with a forced smile and tears on her eyes, repeating "it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt!"

After a while, Ail says "give her a break, Reimu."

Reimu lets go of Rika's calf, then says "fine, but don't do that again!"

Rika nods, and while Reimu and Ail walk to the shrine, Reimu says "you know, she tasted like cinnamon."

Frustrated, Rika walks to the swords and picks them from the ground.

She stares at them for a moment, then takes a deep enraged breath and shouts "stupid swords!" and throws them hard against the ground.

When the swords hit the ground, they both come out of the sheath just slightly.

Rika bends down to take a closer look, and then, she pulls on the sword form the right, revealing a glowing blue band on the un-sharpened side.

Rika gasps with a smile on her face and shout "YES! I did it! This is water... and this..."

She grabs the other sword, which has a glowing red band on its un-sharpened side and excitedly says "water... and fire! Yes. Two steps closer to being just like my lady Reimu!"

She grabs each of the japanese swords on each hand, looks on with excitement, then says "oh yeah, I HAVE to practice with these now!"

Before she can even begin, Reimu shouts from the shrine "Rika~ I'm hungry~! Could you fix lunch, please?"

Rika drops to the ground and whimpers "I wanted to practice~!"

She gets up, and as she slumps, she grabs both swords, sheathes them again, then tosses them inside the gate, closing it and getting her spell card back.

She pockets it and looking at bit sad, she says to herself "it's my lady's request, so I mustn't delay. I can practice later."

On the shrine's roof, Hina spins on the tip of her feet and sings "gathering misfortune to lessen yours~ Don't jump out the window and just use the door~"

-

Night covers Gensokyo, and the moon is half-full, shining down on three girls, flying as fast as they can toward the human village.

Rumia has already taken off her ribbon and is leading the other two, flapping her dark wings every once in a while and rests her long broadsword on her shoulder as she flies.

Agava asks "hey boss, why are we going to the village?"

Flandre answers for her "the three humans from before went missing. The teacher there wants to give us some information."

Rumia, sounding serious, says "we need to move quickly. I feel something is not right here."

Arriving at the school, the people in the village get frightened at the sight of the three youkai, but manage to stay calm and not show their fear, although pointless in doing so, as all three can feel what the humans are feeling.

Keine approaches Rumia and says "I told you not to come here looking like that!"

Anxiously, Rumia says "just get on with it, teach!"

Keine stares reprehensibly at Rumia, but sighs and calms down, then says "right. The lost humans were supposed to pick some herbs and water from the lake to trade with Entei, but they returned empty-handed. Said three crazed youkai attacked them."

Rumia sweats while Agava and Flandre stare at each other quietly.

Keine continues "when we sent them out again, they had just left the village and were suddenly caught in this black orb and pulled underground."

Rumia looks at Agava and says "sound like your shadow has some of your higher level powers."

Agava nods and says "she's entering the shadow realm at will. But how? Right now, I can't do that. Not with this little power anyway."

Flandre says "perhaps that she being your shadow... the shadow of a shadow, I mean, she possesses the natural ability to do as such without the need of any extra boost of power, like you and your amplifier."

Agava, Rumia and Keine stare at Flandre with great surprise, which makes her feel a bit uneasy and says "what? It's just something obvious!"

Keine smiles and says "w-well, umm... About the three humans. You guys took too long to find, and took even longer getting here, so we fear the worse for them by now."

Rumia smirks and says "miss Keine, I am surprised. You and I know perfectly well where they are, and that they are still alive."

Keine smiles, then desperately says "go! Save those humans, please."

Agava salutes Keine, Rumia just smirks, and Flandre lifts to the air, saying "I'll expect the promised pay~!"

Quickly, Agava and Rumia follow Flandre, then Rumia says "oy, blondie? What's the matter?"

Flandre smiles when she looks back and says "I used to be mayor bad news for everyone before big brother and bis sister Meiling helped me."

Rumia and Agava get closer, forming a triangle formation, with Rumia leading, Flandre to the left and Rumia to the right, then Flandre finishes saying "I find it ironic that I am helping save someone... instead of being the cause of the problem."

Rumia smiles and flips her thumb up as they enter an area full of trees near the Misty Lake.

-

From above, their triangle formation looks perfect as they shoot spread danmaku at many fairies and youkai that come out of the trees to bother them.

Rumia fires yellow orbs that oddly enough look like moons, while Agava fires small black dagger-like bullets and Flandre fires scattered fireballs and lasers when she feels like it, since most of the time she's just giggling.

Rumia angrily swings her sword in front of her and asks "what the hell is it with these stupid fairies and youkai!?"

Agava casually asks "should we use our bomb?"

Rumia smirks and shouts "Flan, do your thing!"

Flandre takes the lead and giggles as she pulls a spell card and shouts "Forbidden Barrage - Starbow Break!"

The entire area gets covered in a dense shower of danmaku orbs that scatter randomly, successfully scaring all the small fairies and youkai away.

Flandre giggles and takes her position again, then says "that was fun!"

Reaching the lake, all three stop as Kali floats right in front of the human, who are still inside the dark translucent bubble and floating above the lake.

Kali extends her arms and says "welcome. I was expecting you a lot sooner, but oh well. Here you are."

Agava asks "what do you want?"

Kali replies "very simple. I want to get rid of you, and that swordswoman over there."

Rumia smirks and positions her sword across her face, holding it with one hand, and in an instant, she is already face-to-face of Kali and asks "is that so?"

She swings her sword, cutting off Kali's head and popping the dark bubble, making the humans fall to the lake, but Flandre and Agava catch all three, then Rumia says "take them back home, then come back here!"

Flandre says "don't get all high and mighty."

Rumia's eyes glow red and her wings grow as she shouts "do it NOW!"

Agava panics and says "let's go."

Flandre looks worried and says "ok... we'll be back soon."

Preventing Kali from reaching the others, Rumia stances with her sword pointing behind her and with it's broad side under her arm.

Kali smirks as she places her head back on and asks "you're not placing that darkness around?"

Rumia smirks and says "not needed. Besides, you just want to escape again."

Kali smiles and says "you play dumb, but you're pretty sharp."

Rumia moves so fast, Kali can't even see when she positions herself behind, placing her sword on her neck.

Rumia says "maybe I should keep you around so I can take off this ribbon for good. Too bad I can't allow that. I already gave my word. Agava gave me hers, and regardless of your name, you ARE her, and the deal applies to you. Goodbye, shadow of a shadow."

Rumia slides her blade, hoping to finish Kali off quick, but she turns to shadow form and escapes just in time, then shouts "Shadow Sign - Binding Darkness!"

The area turns dark for a moment, and the second the light comes through again, massive black orbs surround Rumia, and try to constrict her, but she cuts them all to small pieces before that, however, doing so causes the pieces to violently explode, releasing smaller, faster orbs that scatter at random.

Rumia looks at each bullet and moves with precision, avoiding the attack, but before she is able to respond, Kali floats above her and shouts "Shadow Morph" and takes the shape of a small dragon with a white spiked torso that quickly moves around Rumia, giving her a few cuts around her arms and legs, however Rumia doesn't even flinch and just moves accordingly to avoid a direct hit.

When 15 seconds pass and the spell times out, Rumia flies around in zig-zag, confusing Kali and kicking her so hard, she lands all the way behind the SDM.

Rumia quickly follows, pointing her sword forward for a quick end, but once she passes over the SDM, she sees a red spot on the lake behind the mansion.

She gasps with horror, but spots Kali close by.

She says "gotta finish this NOW!"

She lunges at Kali, but Kimi gets in her way, asking "what are you doing here?"

-

Rumia looks into Kimi's eyes, noticing her left eye, then says "if you are allied to Reimu Hakurei, you will let me through!"

Kimi asks "why?"

Rumia's wings grow in size again as she furiously points at Kali and says "that being violated the deal and threatened to take a life. I must finish her off."

By now, Agava and Flandre arrive to help Rumia.

Kimi smirks wickedly at them and says "seems your friends are here."

When her eyes meet Flandre's, they both stare at each other without blinking once.

Flandre even clenches her fists in front of her chest as she continues staring.

Rumia gets Kimi's attention again when she says in a demanding tone "let me pass so I may finish my job!"

Kimi gets startled for a moment, but then smirks and says "please, allow me to take care of her."

Rumia glares at the dragon and says "you do realize what you are saying."

Kimi bows, hiding a wicked smirk in her face, and says "I understand perfectly. I will keep my word to Reimu, you can count on that."

Rumia continues to stare seriously at Kimi, then lifts her sword as it turns into darkness and disappears.

Flandre asks "what are you doing?"

Rumia says "if you can't trust a dragon's word, who can you trust?"

She turns to face Kimi, then says "I don't care how powerful you are, if you break your word to Reimu, I will hunt you down. You and that shadow."

Kimi bows elegantly, extending her right arm as she does.

Rumia's ribbon magically wraps itself around Rumia's head, turning her back to her child-like self, then she turns to her friends and says "well, we're done here. Let's go have a bite."

As they slowly fly away from Kimi, Agava asks "are you sure?"

Flandre adds "don't worry... I'm sure she knows what she's doing."

After they leave, Kimi descends like lightning next to Kali, grabbing her by the neck and pinning her against a tree.

She smiles as her right eye seems to glow with the moonlight, scaring Kali in the process.

Kimi smirks and says "you will listen to me, little shadow. From now on, you work for ME, you got that!?"

Chocking, Kali asks "why... should I?"

Kimi says "your silly shadow tricks are mere child's play for me. I am a thousand times stronger than you and possibly even more than that. You either become my slave, or die right here and now. Besides, with your lack of power... you couldn't last a DAY in here."

Kali stares back at Kimi, and for a moment, she thinks of attacking, but looking at Kimi's eyes make her realize she's out of her league. Feeling defeated, she sadly says "I accept."

-

Flying above Byakuren's temple, Rumia says "hurry, hurry. We must inform that tasty-looking maiden!"

Agava asks "about what? About how you chickened out back there?"

With a childish smile on her face, Rumia strikes Agava on the head and says "no~. We have to tell her about that red thing in the lake!"

Flandre says "it was scarlet. Not red."

Agava, holding a bump on her head with both hands, and Rumia, looking curious, both stare at Flandre as she says "something wasn't right about that girl either. Come on, slowpokes! We better tell red and white sis about this!"

Flandre takes the lead as she thinks "that girl looked so much like Meiling... I want... to play with her."

Down at Byakuren's temple, Shou has fixed herself up, looking like her old self again.

She, Byakuren, Minamitsu, Ichirin, Unzan, Nue and Nazrin all sit at the dinning table, happily eating their meal, when Byakuren says "I see. So she went to the village."

Shou nods and looking a bit sad, asks "so does that mean you are leaving again?"

Byakuren gets up from her chair and walks to Shou, gives her a hug, then says "Shou, I need you to continue to take care of the temple while I'm gone."

Shou keeps quiet as Byakuren lets her go.

Byakuren smiles at Shou and says "I know you are powerful, but if both you and I leave to hunt for that shadow, who's going to stay and watch over the temple?"

A tear escapes Shou, and feeling a bit ashamed, she lowers her head and says "I... I see. Lady Hijiri, please... forgive my behavior before, I... I mean... I."

Byakuren shushes her, then says "there's nothing to forgive. Just do your best while I'm gone, alright?"

With pink spots on her cheeks, Shou looks at Byakuren, then nods as another tear escapes her.

Minamitsu smiles and flips her thumb up to Shou, while Ichirin and Nue just smile, looking dreamily at Byakuren and Shou.

Nazrin looks disgusted at the scene, while Unzan just eyes her cake.

She gets up from the table and grumbles "it's like a damned novel in here."

Unzan grabs the cake and eats it in one bite, just as Nazrin leaves, looking content and with a smile on his face.

At the Hakurei Shrine, Agava and Flandre stand awestruck at the mess of fire and icicles all over the shrine, dog Ail and dog Reimu flying around with small buckets filled with water, Mima and Rika desperately run all over the place, hitting the small fires with large wet blankets, and Budou using her sonar to blow off some other flames at the storage house.

Rumia stands with a smile, extending her arms in the air, and asks "is that so~?"

-

To be continued

Characters and Scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou, Phredia, Kimi & Kali were created by Willie G.R.

Agava and Kali's spell cards (Shadow Morph and Shadow Sign - Binding Darkness) were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

Major assistance by Snapshot2010 (Kali's name by Snapshot2010)

DEC 11 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**Kali {Snapshot's help with naming} (Shadow Agava)**

**Kali: Means Black Destroyer.**

Born after Agava was eaten by the Random Sukima. Unlike the changed Agava, this one wants to destroy the entire human population. Her reason for this, unlike the real Agava, who lacked a reason, is to make space for all other shadows she plans to release. To her dismay, she only possesses 28% of her full power (same as the real Agava), and she is bound to the spell card rule from the start. She is much more aggressive, and she can manage to do heavy damage to others, like breaking bones, cutting their breath, or just plain kill them by grabbing their shadows in the right spots. She is too weak and needs someone stronger at her side to protect her from being completely destroyed. She uses the exact same spell cards as Agava, and has the ability to enter the shadow realm at will, a skill the real Agava lost after her change of heart.

Shadow form  
She has long white hair and has blood-red eyes with no pupils, wears a gold necklace around her neck that stays with her always, even in shadow form, a black vest with gold on the borders, and her entire body and skin is black and somewhat translucent.

Human Form  
Has long wavy white hair and red eyes. Wears a gold necklace around her neck, an open dark-blue vest with silver borders, a purple sleeveless shirt underneath the open vest, and a long black skirt that covers her ghostly legs, since she cannot have human legs (reason is unknown, even to her). Her skin is as pale as a ghost's.

* * *

Random Sukima Interview part 8

Interviewer: Willie G.R.

Translator: Yukari Yakumo

WGR: Hello everyone, and welcome to another interview with the Random Sukima. I am your host, Willie G.R. and our translator here, miss Yukari Yakumo.

Yukari: Hello Willie.

WGR: So, today we are doing the interview in a beautiful and open park, where there are plenty of witnesses, in case we get attacked like last time.

YY: Don't worry, dear. Eirin and Kyo said they would pay you back, eventually.

WGR: Right. Well, mister Sukima, are you ready?"

RS: )%#!GRJQ_)$%

YY: "Hello Willie. Yes, I am ready for this."

WGR: Ok then. Could you tell us about miss Momiji's taste? (I swear, I though I heard drooling when I asked this.)

RS: Mmm~ *%NISDE ## P#$INN*F *N$*N(S !

YY: "Mmm~ what a treat she was. She tasted like whipped cream!"

WGR: Heh heh, I see. (Sounds of several cans of whipped cream being used could b heard from all over the park. The police had to intervene.) So, mister Sukima, please tell us about miss Suwako's taste.

RS: OOOH! $!$*& !JV #()$^_ G (_*(% $GBMM($ )(F.

YY: "Oooh! She was unexpectedly sweet. She tasted like strawberry taffy. She was so delicious. I wanted to eat her again."

WGR: I see, I see. Please, don't. We don't want something like that to happen again. Well, that's it for today. Honestly, doing this in a park was refreshing. Hopefully, we'll have our building back, yet again, by our next interview. Until next time, everyone take care!


	21. Chapter 20

Morning in Gensokyo.

The sun is just about to rise by the time two girls fly high above the field on the eastern side of the Misty Lake.

A familiar voice says "hurry up, girl."

Another familiar voice replies "ugh! Just tell me where are we going!?"

Both girls descend near a small extension of the lake, east-north-east of the Misty Lake itself.

The first one to land is Maribel, wearing a black zipper jacket that is closed on top of a white shirt with short puffy sleeves, a red ribbon around the neck, a black mini-skirt, a pair of black knee-high boots, and ties her hair in a pony-tail with another red ribbon.

The second one to land is Renko, wearing a light-blue dress, a white belt around her waist, a pair of white slippers, adorns her head with a large light-blue ribbon, and wears glasses.

Maribel angrily says "you and that dress! It's a MIRACLE they haven't spotted us yet!"

Renko, smiling but looking very serious, says "watch that mouth, missy, or I'll have to teach you some manners."

S-Maribel flinches, then says "s-sorry. I'm just scared. Until we find that power source, we are VULNERABLE!"

S-Renko's eyes glow red as she says "don't worry about it. As long as we don't get any attention to ourselves, we'll be fine."

Flying above the water to their right, is a girl with long blond hair held with a white ribbon, yellow eyes, a large pair of purple wings she same size of her own body and wearing a white shirt with red suspenders, a long red skirt and a red ribbon on her chest.

The girl says "well, it's been a while since anyone visited. I was starting to get lonely."

The shadows quietly stare at the vampire as she says "my name is Kurumi, and I deal with anyone that enters my lake."

The shadows stand to face the vampire, then S-Maribel gestures S-Renko to take the front, and she does, smiling ever so wickedly.

Kurumi continues "not very talkative, are you? No matter. Now to deal with the tress-"

Standing close to Kurumi, S-Renko lifts her arms at chest height and opens her hands, unleashing a quick and thick barrage of blue orbs that blow up hard on Kurumi, knocking her out almost immediately.

S-Renko grabs Kurumi by her ribbon, and with a wicked smile, she asks "we were told of a very special mansion around here. Tell me, do you know where it is?"

Kurumi rubs her head as she says "ugh. Ma-mansion? No, I don't know of Mugekan, sorry!"

The shadows look at each other and smirk, then Kurumi continues "you certainly won't find anything important in there either. Well, that is unless death is important to you."

S-Maribel says "oh, is that so? Well--"

A sudden rustling of leaves and grass startle the three girls, but after some time, they ignore it and S-Maribel continues "well, that's too bad. We WERE looking for a place that has a certain power source that COULD help us, but, if you say there is no mansion..."

Kurumi smiles and says "that's right. You will certainly NOT find that power in there, so you might as well just leave and not come back."

The shadows smirk again, then S-Renko asks "well, out of curiosity, if that placed DID exist, where would it be?"

Kurumi confidently crosses her arms around her chest as she hovers above the ground and says "just a little up ahead. But there's nothing there, so..."

Both shadows have already left, following Kurumi's directions.

The little vampire thinks for a moment, then upon the realization of what had just happened, she growls and smacks her own head, saying "gah! Idiot! Geez, Elly's gonna kill me."

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Mima holds dog Reimu against her chest as she floats out the door.

With a tear in her left eye, Rika sniffles.

Reimu says "Mima, wait a sec."

Mima stops and turns around, revealing a bit of blood on her nose, just above her wide smile.

Reimu puffs air out of her mouth and says "Rika, you know what you did. This is your punishment. Take responsibility for your actions and stop crying."

Chocking back her tears, but still with wide glassy eyes, Rika salutes Reimu and says "as you wish, m-my lady *sniffle*"

Reimu sighs and says "ok Mima, let's go."

Mima says "you're so cute" as she turns around and flies away.

Rika continues to stare with wide glassy eyes, and when she turns away, Mima and Reimu get caught inside one of Yukari's gaps.

By the time she turns around again, they are gone and the gap closed.

Rika sniffles, then sighs and says "better start with the floors."

Reimu and Mima find themselves beside dog Ail and Sanae inside of Kourindou at the Forest of Magic.

Yukari stands next to her violet yin-yang orb with that game system of hers already plugged in, and Budou holding the first controller in her hand.

Reimu asks "ok, who am I supposed to help now?"

Yukari opens her fan in front of her face and says "fu fu fu fu. You won't be playing today. Today, our players will be little Budou here, and a very special challenger."

Rinnosuke comes from hiding, holding the shoulders of a small youkai.

She has white hair with blue in front and on the side-burns, two small blue horns, a small red wing with pink feathers on the back of her head, and wearing a black dress with a blue trim, and has small red wings with pink feathers on her back.

The moment she spots Reimu and Reimu spots her, they both point and shout at each other at the same time.

Reimu shouts "the cocky weakling!"

Tokiko shouts "the thieving maiden!"

Both stay quiet for a moment and just glare from across the room, sending sparks that crash and almost set the place on fire, if not for Ail and Sanae's quick reactions.

Ail asks "so who is this?"

Yukari chuckles and says "she's and unnamed book-reading youkai who we like to call 'Tokiko' as a term of endearment."

Tokiko defiantly says "hey, I have a name! It's..."

Yukari glares over her fan, her eyes glowing with malice toward the small bird-like youkai.

Tokiko lowers her head, and in a defeated tone, she says "it's Tokiko."

Ail and Sanae both sweat, then Ail asks "umm... so why did you call Reimu a thieving maiden?"

Before Tokiko even opens her mouth, Reimu says "she ripped my dress, so I had to PUNISH her for being such a naughty youkai, and as punishment, I took her books. But I'm no thief! She can read them over here whenever she wants!"

Tokiko shouts "you're still a THIEF!"

Both Ail and Sanae duck to the ground, just as the sparks from their eyes fly across the room and crash just where they stood.

Yukari closes her fan, getting everyone's attention, then says "Tokiko, if you'd be so kind?"

Tokiko grumbles "don't even know why *grumble grumble* Don't even play these things *grumble grumble*"

Budou smiles at Tokiko as she sits down, making her smile back, then says "hello. I'm Budou. Nice to meet you, miss Tokiko."

Tokiko can't help but feel at ease, and smiles back at Budou and happily says "hello, miss Budou." then both giggle as Tokiko grabs her controller.

Budou leans closer and whispers "so what's your real name?"

Tokiko's wings flap as she happily smiles, then leans closer to Budou and whispers in her ear.

While Mima looks around the store, Reimu, sounding annoyed, asks "so why did you bring us here, Yukari?"

Yukari glances over to Reimu, and smiles as she says "you will cheer for these two as they 'help' out two girls solve today's little shadow incident."

Reimu stares back with her arms crossed, then Ail, calmly asks "lady Yukari? Who needs help?"

Yukari opens her fan, covering her smirk and staring over to where Mima and Rinnosuke are, both having a discussion about the difference between shop-lifting and borrowing.

-

At the Human Village, Kyo holds a large portrait of fruits against a wall, while standing still on a ladder.

Luna says "a little more to the right... no, you're right."

Kyo angrily asks "come on, is this thing centered yet, or not!?"

The hat-less Renko stands beside Luna and while holding her chin, she nods and says "perfect."

Luna giggles and says "you heard her. Now, hold still while we place the nails."

Kyo sweats and grunts "hurry... this thing's heavy."

With a smile on her face, Maribel flies to the top with a small hammer and some nails, then quickly hammers away.

She floats back and says "go ahead, mister Kyo."

Kyo sweats and his face turns red as he holds the portrait.

He places the frame on the wall and manages to place the portrait in place, feeling great relief as he lets it go.

He dusts his hands, comes down the small ladder, and smiles as he looks back.

The portrait isn't that good, but it's there to stay... or so he thinks.

Maribel stares at it for a moment, then says "I don't know... I think it would look much better in the kitchen."

Kyo sweats, then quickly heads to the door, but to his dismay, Luna is already outside, smiling dangerously, asking "and where are you going? We promised to help these two girls today."

Kyo stutters for a moment, and is saved when Renko exclaims "hey, look over there!"

She points next to the portrait, where a small gap opens up, and out comes a letter addressed to Maribel and Renko.

Quickly picking it up, Maribel gets closer to Renko as she opens the letter and reads "dear Maribel and Renko. I have a mission for you today. I need you to visit that flower youkai's mansion and take care of a little incident for me. Yours truly, Yukari Yakumo."

Maribel and Renko look at each other, then at Kyo and Luna, then Renko asks "that flower youkai would be the one in the Field of the Sun, right?"

Luna nods, then Maribel adds with a smile "I didn't know she had a mansion!"

Kyo adds "neither did I. Luna, maybe we should go with them, just in case."

Maribel giggles and says "no way! I'm sure miss Yukari wants us to train or something."

Renko adds "besides, we can take good care of ourselves, so don't you worry. Just, if you're so kind... please move the portrait to the kitchen."

Luna smiles and says "I'll make sure he does."

Kyo sweats, feeling anger rise to his head, but his heart tells him that if he dares explode now, he'll only end up hurt, so he manages to calm himself down.

Renko grabs her hat, places it on, and says "let's go Mary!"

Maribel replies "right behind you!"

Maribel and Renko lift to the air, then wave at Kyo and Luna, quickly leaving toward the Garden of the Sun, with two small violet yin-yang orbs that follow them unnoticed.

Going back inside the house, Kyo and Luna spot the letter from Yukari on the floor.

Kyo opens it up and Luna reads "this note will explode in a beautiful arrange of flowers in a few minutes, so I suggest you back away."

Luna scratches her head and asks "huh... I wonder what she means?"

Kyo's face turns pale as he gasps and shouts "hit the floor!" but before he or Luna can escape, the letter explodes into pink and green petal bullets that make the shapes or many flowers before falling on the floor, exploding as they make contact.

After the smoke clears, Kyo and Luna's stand in shock with their faces black and both tremble as the smoke vanishes.

Luna coughs up some smoke and asks "why?"

Kyo's left eye twitches as he replies "she's... Yukari."

Both fall on the ground just as Medicine enters through the door, smiling and shouting "who wants cake!? ...EEH~!?" with both eyes open wide and her pupils disappearing as she looks to the floor at the knocked-out couple.

-

At Kourindou, Budou and Tokiko have started their game.

Their screen is split in two as Budou plays Maribel, and Tokiko plays Renko.

Both have a large number of fairies and strange magical beings in their screen, firing many bullets at them as they fly near the outskirts of the village.

Renko shoots 3 energy stakes that widen a bit as they reach farther, and Maribel fires a wide barrage of pink hearts that covers a good range, but lack power.

While Ail and Reimu watch the girls play, Sanae, Mima, Yukari and Rinnosuke are playing cards.

Mima asks "got any sevens?"

Sanae replies "go fish."

Yukari opens a gap with a smile, and Mima takes a small pole with a short string, and starts fishing in the gap.

Rinnosuke sweats and arranges his glasses, then asks "isn't that taking things too literal?"

Meanwhile, Maribel and Renko fly side-by-side, both shooting at all the fairies that come their way.

Crying, Maribel asks "Renko?"

Renko replies "yes, Mary?"

Maribel asks "can you stop yourself from shooting those?"

Renko replies "no. Can you?"

Crying again, Maribel says "I can't even move on my own~! I don't want to hurt those cute little fairies! Do something!"

Renko shouts "well, they ARE shooting at us, Mary! We do need to defend ourselves."

Maribel cries "but they're so cute!"

All the fairies go away, and all the bullets disappear from the screen.

Maribel asks "what happened?"

In front of them, Agava and Rumia fly along with them.

Maribel smiles and says "oh, miss Agava, miss Rumia, how are you?"

Both wave back, smiling along with Maribel, when both she and Renko start shooting their bullets at the unsuspecting youkai, making them blow up before they can even attack back.

Maribel shouts "I'm so sorry~! I didn't mean to!"

Hanging limp on a tree branch, Agava asks "Ru-Rumia, what the heck just happen?"

Rumia dizzily replies "pink flying, pain-inducing hearts."

Back at Kourindou, on the yin-yang's screen, written in red are the words "Subjective Objectivity Win! Try stage 2!"

Budou stares at the letter and says "hmm... Our team shoudl be called 'Two of a Kind', don't you agree, Tokiko?"

Tokiko nods and says "you're right... but isn't this a bit too easy?"

Budou smirks wickedly, then asks "wanna up the challenge?"

Tokiko smirks wickedly and says "you read my mind!"

Before pressing the button to go to the next level, Budou hacks into the game menu by entering a combination code on her game controller, then sets the game difficulty to hard mode, then she and Tokiko smile at each other as Stage two, The Sunflower Field, begins.

At the Garden of the Sun, just as Maribel and Renko enter the Sunflower Fields, Yuka intercepts them and smiles as she says "welcome, little humans. You want to play?"

Maribel exclaims "oh, miss Yuka! We nee to talk to-- HEY!"

Both Maribel and Renko start shooting their bullets at Yuka, Renko crying "oh, NOW we've done it!"

Maribel replies, crying "but I didn't even think of shooting!"

Yuka dodges easily, then smiles wide and says "THAT'S what I like! Cut STRAIGHT to the chase. Let's begin girls!"

-

Yuka's smile widens as she continues to dodge Maribel and Renko's attacks, then shouts "Dual Spark!"

A spell card floats on the tip of her parasol, spinning and shining, then Yuka closes the parasol and points at Maribel, then opens the palm of her free hand and points it at Renko, and from the tip of each, a thick yellow beam quickly fires straight at the human girls.

Somehow, they manage to avoid being blasted and continue their assault.

Yuka's smile widens even more, now looking malevolent as she unleashes a shower of flowers in random formations at the girls.

As they continue to shoot and dodge, Renko shouts "Maribel, do you have a clue how we are doing this??"

Maribel shouts back "no, but this is starting to get fun~!"

At Kourindou, both Budou and Tokiko look at the screen, seemingly bored as they dodge the shower of danmaku bullets on their screens.

Budou asks "is this really hard?"

Tokiko shrugs, then says "at least this one's harder than that last two."

Reimu and Ail look at the screen, both with their tails between their legs, awestruck that both girls are playing in that difficulty, and so calmly.

From the store front, Mima shouts "BINGO~!!!"

Yukari angrily says "it's Mahjong, not bingo, you idiot."

Sanae casually says "ah, I win again."

All around her quietly growl, then Rinnosuke says under his own breath "that's the 8th time in a row."

Back above the Sunflower Field, Yuka intensifies her danmaku, covering the skies with flowers and small yellow and white bullets and petals.

Renko and Maribel are having a very hard time dodging these, and now their clothes are singed and torn on some areas, but they continue to attack.

Another spell card floats just above Yuka's parasol and sounding annoyed, Renko shouts "hey, cut it out! We still don't have spell cards of our own!"

Ignoring Renko, Yuka shouts "Phantasm - Beauty of Nature!"

Yuka fires from all around her yellow crystal danmaku shards that from a giant flower, then move in a circular pattern against each other while she quickly moves and fires orange and yellow orbs in two circular patterns that move in a circle against each other, then positions herself in front and center of the two girls and fires a fast barrage or large yellow orbs that move in an arc along with her.

Renko almost bites a blast, but manages to dodge just in time, while Maribel finds a clear spot and continues to attack.

Tired, Maribel asks "Renko? Should we run away?"

Renko, sounding winded, shouts back "just a little more, Mary. Remember, this is our first mission!"

Both Renko and Maribel are on edge. There are bullets all around them, and to them, it seems impossible to dodge, yet they somehow manage to survive each and every barrage.

Renko furiously says "what the hell is wrong with you! Stop this already!"

Yuka happily replies "but I'm having so much FUN! You girls are much stronger than I though!"

Maribel takes a deep breath, and while Yuka focuses on Renko, she manages to summon enough energy to herself and fires a dense, and heavy barrage of red, pink and blue hearts that home in on Yuka, plus her regular wide shot of hearts, all striking hard and making Yuka blow up.

Maribel gasps in horror and covers her mouth with her hands, then shouts with concern and fear "miss Yuka, are you alright!? Oh~ I'm so sorry!"

Renko sweats and says "that lunatic almost kills us and she's sorry for beating her?"

-

Regaining control of themselves, Renko and Maribel follow after Yuka, finding her complaining about her back after falling on the ground next to a bed of sunflowers.

A little worried, Renko asks "why didn't you try and fall on the sunflowers?"

Yuka recovers miraculously and spring to her feet with bloodshot eyes and angrily says "don't be unreasonable!"

Maribel waves her hand at Renko, who nervously smiles at Yuka while getting closer to Maribel, then asks her "what is it?"

With a smile on her face, Maribel whispers "she's a FLOWER youkai. Careful with what you say."

Renko quietly nods, then heads back to Yuka with a nervous smile, then says "I'm sorry about that. Now, miss Yuka. We were told we needed to go to your mansion. Could you tell us where it is?"

Yuka looks confused, then she places her index finger next to her lip as she looks to the sky and says "mansion? That sounds familiar..."

Again, Renko and Maribel get close to each other, then Maribel whispers "Renko, I think she doesn't know."

Renko replies "maybe miss Yukari was playing us all along after all."

Yuka suddenly gasps, snapping her finger and happily saying "I remember now. To the east of the Misty lake. I had a mansion. Umm... Mugekan! Yeah, I used it to connect Gensokyo with the Land of Dreams."

With a bright smile on her face, Yuka turns to Maribel and Renko, then says "let me go with you! I want to see it again!"

Without a second though, Maribel happily replies "sure! We'd LOVE it if you come with us! Right Renko?"

Sweating and giving Maribel an evil look, Renko hesitantly says "err, sure... right."

Yuka claps both hands softly and says "alright then, I'll just changed from these dirty clothes and we can be off!"

Yuka runs to her small house, which is close by, then humming, she enters and quickly shuts the door.

Renko grabs Maribel by her shirt and furiously asks "Mary, what the HELL is wrong with you? What is she tries to kill us again!?"

Maribel smiles and pats Renko's hands gently, making her let go, then says "aww, come on. Miss Yuka is not evil. She's just strong spirited."

With those words, Maribel breaks a sunflower she was just touching with the tip of her fingers.

Right after that one falls, 6 more break in a domino effect.

Both Renko and Maribel's faces turns pale, then blue, then Renko rapidly says "to the lake!"

Maribel quickly replies "right behind you!"

They moment they are out of sight, Yuka comes out of her house, wearing clothes similar to the ones she just had on, except she changed her skirt for a long red plaid pants.

She looks around, asking "girls? Where are you?"

She immediately notices the sunflowers on the ground, and with a big smile and a glint on her narrowly opened left eye, she says "oh, you naughty, hasty, bad girls. I'm going to have to punish you."

Yuka springs to the air and heads toward the Misty Lake without delay.

Meanwhile, at Kourindou, dogs Reimu and Ail are trembling, their faces are blue, their eyes are round and white, and they and hug each other tight as Budou and Tokiko hack the game menu through control combination and set the game on Lunatic mode with wide smiles on their faces and glints in the eyes.

-

Maribel and Renko are flying on the eastern shore of the Misty lake, heading to some suspicious mountain formations.

Again, they feel they have no control over their actions as they doge, sway, swerve, and even loop around the thick concentration of bullets headed their way, fired by the countless fairies that seem to pop out of nowhere.

Maribel cries "no~~! I don't wanna shoot at the fairies!!!"

Renko angrily shouts "have you noticed they are firing at us with GREAT INTENSITY!?"

Maribel cries back "but they're just playing!"

Maribel continues to shoot, even though she wants to stop, then watches in horror as three more fairies explode right next to her.

She bawls "those poor fairie~s!"

Renko simply sighs and continues to dodge and shoot, though she still wonders how she is managing to do so.

The girls arrive at a small extension to the lake itself, and before Renko is able to comment about the scene, the small blond vampire, Kurumi, flies in front of the two girls, making all the fairies around run away, then says "I though I told you two there was nothing over there!"

Maribel and Renko look at each other, wondering what she is talking about.

Maribel asks "I'm sorry, have we met before, miss?"

Kurumi flaps her wings rapidly with rage and says "I already told you, my name is Kurumi! Don't you DARE forget my name again!"

Renko, sounding uninterested, says "whatever you say. Look, this is the first time we've met, but we have business elsewhere, so please, step aside!"

Kurumi flaps her wings furiously again, then shouts "you won't get away from the THAT easy!"

Maribel wipes some blood off her nose and says "it's like looking at a blond Budou with a cute temper."

Renko sighs and says "FOCUS! This is going to turn ugly!"

The moment Renko finishes her sentence, Kurumi expands her energy around the humans, then starts by firing two lasers to the sides that explode into fast flying white orbs the second they touch anything.

Renko and Maribel can't even follow the bullets, but somehow dodge every single shot as they shoot back at the little vampire.

Kurumi continues her attack by quickly moving left and right and firing small white orbs in a straight line at the same time as she fires more of those lasers.

Renko's leg gets grazed, making her yelp in pain.

Maribel concernedly shouts "Renko, are you ok!?"

Renko takes a few deep breaths and keeping her right eye tightly closed, she says "it's not bad. Just return fire!"

Kurumi smirks and her attack gets faster and more intense, but all her bullets disappear, then she changes her attack, firing small white orbs and thin blue twin lasers at high speeds.

Renko and Maribel continue their attack, even though they are constantly being grazed by the lasers.

From behind, Yuka shouts "Dual~!"

Renko panics and shouts "MARY LOOK OUT!!"

Renko and Maribel split up as far away as possible as Yuka finishes "Spa~rk!!" and two yellow beams fly from behind them, straight to Kurumi, blasting the little vampire out of the sky.

Regaining control of her actions, Maribel shouts "oh no! Save her!" then flies straight to the falling Kurumi, catching her in mid-air before she plunges into the water.

Minutes later, Kurumi wakes up on Maribel's lap, with Renko and Yuka standing to their right.

Kurumi mumbles "oh... miss Yuka. I must be dreaming again."

She goes back to sleep, but Yuka says "hey, wake up already!"

Kurumi springs up and shouts "miss YUKA~! You're back!"

She flies to Yuka and clings on her, giving her a hug and nibbling on her shoulder.

Yuka grabs the small vampire and tosses her away, then Maribel reprehensibly says "miss Yuka! She's recovering!"

Yuka only scoffs as Kurumi gets back up and says "I didn't know these two humans were serving you! Why didn't you two say anything sooner?"

Renko looks away, while Maribel checks on Kurumi's face, wiping off some dirt from her cheek, then Yuka asks "wait... why did I come all the way here?"

Renko nervously says "er, you, umm, wanted to see Mugekan again!"

Yuka nods and smiles then says "then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Kurumi smiles and flaps her wings contently while chasing after the hasty Yuka and saying "yay! Miss Yuka's back." leaving the two humans behind.

-

Renko and Maribel watch as the two youkai leave, then Renko takes a deep breath and sighs, then says "come on, Mary, let's follow them."

Maribel continues to watch the sky seemingly absentminded, then says "but they're already gone, Renko."

Renko looks to the sky and in a shock she shouts "wah!? Wait a minute! They were just there!"

Maribel smiles and says "don't worry. Let's just go."

Again, unable to control themselves, the two humans take to the sky.

Back at Kourindou, while playing Old Maid, Mima hides three cards under the floor.

Yukari notices, but says nothing about the matter.

From the back of the store, Ail shouts "How the heck did you guys do that!?"

Reimu, sounding a bit angry, adds "that's just impossible! You two must be cheating!"

Sanae drops her cards face-down on the floor and sweating with a forced smile she says "I'll go see what's happening." then leaves to the back.

Mima grabs Sanae's cards checks them, then smirks.

Rinnosuke says "wipe that smirk off, you cheater. I saw what you did."

Mima smiles nervously, then says "I'll go check on the kids." then floats to the back in a hurry, leaving hre own cards scattered on the floor.

Yukari and Rinnosuke look at each other, looking rather seriously, then Yukari says "sounds like they're having fun over there."

Rinnosuke smirks and says "I know you have the old maid."

Yukari sweats and hides her blushing face under her cards, but Rinnosuke simply rests his head on his hands behind his neck, then says "but it's a void game, so it doesn't count."

Yukari places her cards face-down on the floor, then asks "Shall we?"

Rinnosuke nods and says "though you'd never ask."

He gets up from the floor, leaving his cards face-up, then goes to the door and changes his open sign, to closed, then locks the door.

Yukari hooks her arm around his, just as he turns around, then playfully says "come on sweetie, let's go watch the kids play."

Rinnosuke blushes, but decides to keep quiet.

Upon entering the room where the two girls are playing, both Rinnosuke and Yukari open their eyes wide and leave their mouths wide open, along with Mima, Sanae, and the dogs Reimu and Ail.

Yukari manages to recover, but stutters for a moment before finally asking "you little twerps!? How did you change the difficulty like that!? You're gonna kills those two girls!!!"

On the screen, both player's screen are so full of bullets, their characters are barely visible, but Budou and Tokiko, looking quite bored, dodge through them like it is nothing at all.

Budou yawns, then says "we hacked the menu system and upped the difficultly."

Tokiko calmly adds "it's still too easy, though."

Budou nods and continues playing.

Yukari sweats and sounding scared, she says "Reimu, I'm checking on them!"

Reimu, with her mouth and eyes still wide open, nods and continues to watch.

Yukari opens a gap and immediately sets off, while the rest stay in the room, staring dumbfounded toward the game.

-

Meanwhile, Maribel and Renko dodge the curtain of bullets headed their way, though unable to control their own actions, and blasting away many youkai of different shapes and sizes, along with a few fairies.

Maribel cries "I don't mind defending myself, but the poor youkai and fairies~!"

Renko sweats and thinks "this girl is incredible."

Maribel gasps after they clears the last of the bullets.

When Renko looks ahead, she sees a girl with blond hair curled at the tips, empty yellow eyes on her pale expressionless face, wearing a pink hat with a red ribbon on it, and a dark-red dress with thin pink designs on the bottom borders of the skirt, carrying a large scythe with her.

At first, she only floats silent and unmoving, but she throws her large scythe in a quick spin, then starts firing small white bullets in arcs with very little room between them.

Somehow, Maribel and Renko dodge the attacks and start shooting back.

The woman's scythe returns to her hands like a boomerang, then she throws it once more, this time accompanied by crystal tiles that shoot a few small white bullets as they fly by, and her own medium sized blue orbs and small yellow laser trios.

Maribel's left arm is grazed, making her scream in pain, but before Renko even asks, Maribel shouts "I'm ok! Just startled me!"

They continue their assault, defeating the crystal tiles, but now have to face insanely fast arcs of small bullets with small gaps between them, and lines of medium white orbs accompanied by blue medium orbs, all coming fast toward the humans.

Dodging, Renko finds a safe spot and stops shooting for a moment, concentrating her energy on one spot around her hands, and just before Maribel is struck by a stray white orb, Renko unleashes her attack, making large stake-like bullets that fly in a straight line along with her normal bullets, but explode very violently once they impact the woman, making her drop to the floor.

The woman flies back up, her eyes now filled with life and fury as she shouts "What the HECK is going on here!? Who the HELL are you!?"

Maribel and Renko stop shooting for a moment, then look at each other confused.

Maribel asks "so you don't remember? You started attacking us just now."

The woman scratches her head with her left hand while resting her right hand on her scythe, which rests on her shoulder.

She smiles and points at the human girls, then says "well, you are still trespassing, so I'll have to beat you away from here."

Renko tips her hat, covering her eyes and sighs as she says "so much for her."

The woman brandishes her scythe and says "by the way, my name is Elly, and I'll be forcefully getting you out of our mansion. Please, don't make yourselves at home, and... well, goodbye humans."

Renko and Maribel resume their assault as Elly starts firing many quick small white orbs from all around her along with her scythe, which she continues to throw like a boomerang.

Both Maribel and Renko concentrate their attacks, and in a sudden burst, both unleash their attacks at the same time, surprising Elly as she grabs her scythe once more, knocking her out after the barrage strikes her hard.

Unable to go down to check on her, Maribel says "sorry miss Elly~! Seems we can't help you out. Please, don't take it personal."

Renko adds "Yuka's around here too, so you should look for her."

Like magic, hearing Yuka's name makes Elly recover entirely. Even her clothes return to normal.

She jumps on her feet with a smile and shouting "Yuka!? Miss Yukarin is here!?"

She flies fast, getting ahead of Maribel and Renko, shouting "miss Yuka~~! Miss Yuka, where are you~!?"

Renko looks at Maribel, who looks back as confused as her friend, then both shrug as they continue on their way inside Mugekan.

-

Going through another shower of bullets that miss them by mere inches, Maribel and Renko blast their way through strange creatures, flying mirrors, black orbs surrounded by electricity, and flying washtubs that fire blue lasers.

Sounding tired, Maribel says "Renko... I cant keep this up. I'm getting very tired and hungry~!"

Equally tired, Renko replies "just hang in there, Mary. We can finish this!"

Up ahead, S-Maribel floats just above the floor on the stairs, smiling wickedly and saying "so you broke the spell on the gate guard. Welcome to Mugekan, your final resting place, little humans."

Renko whispers with surprise "Mary, look.... it's your shadow!"

Maribel slowly falls to the ground, worrying Renko, who follows after her, asking "Mary, what is it? Come on, Mary! Talk to me!"

Maribel says "I'm... so.. hungry~!"

S-Maribel laughs and says "oh my, this is going to be easier than I-"

Ppurple colored kunai fly around S-Maribel's back, scaring her and making her fly further inside the mansion, shouting "no~ that's not fair! I'll get you two yet!" then two large apples fall next to Maribel and Renko.

Without questioning, Maribel desperately grabs one of the apples and eats it in a hurry.

Renko looks around, wondering where the apples came from, then asks "Mary, are you alright?"

Maribel says "*munch munch* this apple is DELICIOUS! *munch munch*"

Renko grabs her apple, then says "doesn't seem poisonous after all."

Renko takes a bite off the apple and contently eats alongside Maribel.

After they are done eating and resting, Renko places a hand on Maribel's shoulder, and looking seriously at her friend, she says "Mary... be more careful next time. Those apples came from nowhere; they could have been poisonous."

Maribel smiles and says "it was miss Yukari who gave them to us, so there's really no need to worry."

Renko looks shocked and confused, but decides not to think about it too much, then offers Maribel her hand as she gets up and says "I believe our shadows are up ahead, Mary. Are you ready?"

Maribel smiles and says "of course. I'm full, rested and ready to go again!"

Meanwhile, in the deeper areas of Mugekan, Yuka and Kurumi enter Yuka's old room.

It's dusty, and seems only spiders live there now.

Yuka blows on her old bed, lifting an unusual amount of dust, then, without thinking about it much, she grabs the entire bed and flicks it, making a thick cloud of dust cover the entire room, causing Kurumi to cough and say "tha-that's our *cough* miss Yukari. So neat and clean *cough cough*"

When the thick cloud of smoke clears, Yuka's lying on the bed, completely asleep.

Kurumi looks curiously and jumps on Yuka's abdomen and shakes her shoulders lightly, making Yuka's head tilt slightly to the left.

Kurumi keeps staring curiously, when Elly enters the room and upon seeing the scene, thinks Kurumi is trying to bite Yuka's neck.

Elly shouts "Kurumi, you evil little vampire, GET OFF MY YUKARIN!!!"

Kurumi shrieks as Elly pounces her, knocking her off Yuka and to the floor, where Kurumi struggles and says "no, it's not what you think, you idiot!"

Elly shouts back "you're not taking my Yuka's blood away! That's MINE!"

Yuka moans in her sleep, causing Elly and Kurumi to stop fighting and stand up, staring curiously at Yuka, who chuckles in her sleep, then mumbles "Ail~"

Elly turns to stone, while Kurumi ponders and says "I've heard that name somewhere."

Elly recovers and clenching her teeth and with fire in her eyes, she shouts "I'm gonna kill that Ail~! Whoever he, or she is!"

-

Maribel and Renko fly through some fast-firing bullet portals, avoiding being hit, yet not knowing how, and even though there is nothing in their way, they continue to shoot their bullets.

Maribel shouts "Renko, look!"

Renko replies "I see them, I see them!"

S-Renko flips her hair and says with a smile "you've got guts if you managed to scare THIS blond freak."

S-Maribel growls, but keeps quiet.

S-Renko continues "you should know the rules by now, I assume. We try to kill you, you defend yourselves. Easy, right?"

Renko growls and whispers "I look awful in those girlie clothes and with glasses, dammit."

Maribel smiles sheepishly and says "now, don't say that."

S-Renko smiles and says "hey, we're not here to talk about fashion."

She raises her hand, then in a wicked undertone, she says "we're here to kill each other, right?"

S-Renko fires a heavy barrage of light-blue large orbs at insane speeds at Renko, while S-Maribel giggles and says "time to take off that pretty little head of yours, darling!" then fires axe-shaped gray danmaku that look like halves of broken hearts.

Maribel ducks just in time, as some of the blades fly straight at her neck, then responds with a barrage of hearts of her own.

S-Renko and S-Maribel combine their danmaku, and start firing in arcs, mixing their attacks in a thick curtain of bullets, while Renko and Maribel are forced to separate in order to avoid being hit.

Renko finds a safe spot to focus her power, making her shadow stare expectantly, but when Renko simply unleashes concentrated danmaku, she scoffs, dodges the attack, then angrily says "hey, use your spell cards, you fools!"

Maribel innocently says "but we don't have spell cards." while Renko shouts "Mary no!"

Maribel looks at Renko, then asks "what? We can't use them, right?"

Renko runs her hand across her face, then S-Renko shouts "how WORTHLESS! I am going to kill you both here and NOW!"

Renko observes how her shadow stares unblinking at her and Maribel, and while firing and dodging, Renko laughs and says "so your power is copying others spell cards? What a leech!"

S-Maribel says "tell me about it."

S-Renko shouts "you shut up and fight!"

Their bullets intensify in speed, quantity and size.

Renko and Maribel are being grazed all over, both groaning in pain as some of the bullets hit them in already damaged spots.

Maribel cries "Renko, we can't beat them like this!"

Renko shouts "then I'll do THIS!"

Renko drops to the ground and before springing up to her feet, she places both hands on the floor and two large rock pillars pop from the ground, one in front of Renko and the other beside Maribel, then Renko shouts "use the cover!"

Maribel quickly hides behind the pillar, then charges her attack, sending a heavy barrage of hearts to her shadow, managing to harm both shadows.

Renko feels she loses control of herself and says "here we go again." then starts firing and moving without control.

Finally, S-Renko shouts "FINE! If this is how you're going to play!"

She grabs S-Maribel's hand, then pulls her closer, embracing her tightly and spinning in the air above a pentagram circle, causing a blinding light to emanates from their bodies.

When the spinning stops and the light dims, instead of two shadows, only one floats in front of the humans.

She looked just like Renko, only with blond hair and blue eyes.

S-Renko smiles and says "that fool... I now have complete control of both our powers. Oh well, let's end this quick, I'm getting bored of you two."

-

Renko shouts "Mary, get behind the pillar!"

Maribel shouts "it's no use!"

In a quick energy blast, S-Renko turns the two pillars to dust, then Renko sweats and frightened, she says "Ma-Mary~. I... I don't think we can do this after all."

Maribel notices Renko's fear. With determination in her eyes, Maribel says "oh yes we can! Just concentrate, Renko!"

S-Renko starts moving around very fast and unleashes large orbs along small blue lasers and smaller white orbs in arcs.

Maribel and Renko dodge while firing their danmaku without missing once, however, S-Renko starts firing red daggers along with the blue orbs, then teleports from one point to another in an instant, then resumes firing her bullets.

Renko almost gets hit, but Maribel manages to blast that bullet away, saving Renko form a painful blast.

S-Renko growls and then shouts "that's IT!"

She teleports to the middle of the large room, then starts firing fast red lasers and extra large white orbs along narrow arcs of small white orbs.

Maribel manages to fly above the small orbs and avoid the laser, while Renko finds a blind spot.

Both concentrate their attacks, and at the same time, they unleash concentrated blasts that explode heavily on Renko's shadow, making her scream in agony as her body separates from S-Maribel's, then both shatter and turns to black dust, finally ending their lives.

S-Renko's bullets all turn to dust, and Renko and Maribel, exhausted, slowly land next to each other, then drop on the floor, turning on their backs, smiling an laughing.

Panting, Maribel says "we... we did it."

Renko, panting as well, replies "we... we sure did... Mary." then both girls fall asleep on their backs, looking toward each other as they drift into slumber.

Shortly after, Yuka arrives to the large room and points at the girls, then says "make sure they are safe, is that clear?"

Elly and Kurumi walk beside Yuka and salute her, saying "yes ma'am."

Yuka looks sternly at Kurumi and says "don't you dare bite them, or I'll have your head."

Kurumi slumps and says "aww~" then asks "not even a nibble?"

Yuka glares at Kurumi, who salutes again and nervously says "right away my lady! Safe and sound! Safe and sound!!"

-

Back at Kourindou, it's late noon, and everyone is astonished at the score from the two girls.

Both ended with a score of 2,345,689,900.

Yukari covers her face with her fan and says "it's a tie. You girls sure are something else, aren't you?"

Budou and Tokiko look a bit bored, but smile and Tokiko says "well, even without bombs it was a little easy, but still..."

Budou continues "playing with a friend sure was fun!"

Both Budou and Tokiko shake hands with a smile, then Sanae, sweating a little, says "you two sure are amazing at those games, aren't you?"

Mima adds "I used to play those with my eyes closed."

Rinnosuke says "you're such a liar."

Mima smiles and says "come on. I was a PRO, I tell you!"

Rinnosuke hums suspiciously, then asks "Reimu, what do YOU think of this?"

Reimu doesn't answer, then Sanae asks "wait, where are they? She and Ail were right here just now!"

Yukari giggles, covering her smile behind her fan, then points at the store front where both Ail and Reimu hide under the old gaming scoreboard, shaking and peeking their heads from under the large piece of paper.

Sanae sweats with a forced smile and says "wow, they took it quite badly."

Mima has hearts floating from her head and popping just above her hat as she says "who cares. They look so ADORABLE!" then rushes to grab and hug the dogs.

Yukari chuckles, then says "well, at least next time, I have better subjects to test my games."

Budou and Tokiko stare straight at Yukari, who blushes and pulls out a camera from her gap, then starts recording them, saying "it's just for the memory, darlings."

At the Moriya shrine, Kanako lies on the floor beside some empty sake bottles, and Suwako, who scratches her belly and complains "it's so~ hot"

Phredia lands on Suwako's chest and nods.

Kanako asks "did you guys feel that power earlier?"

Suwako lazily replies "yeah... but it's too hot to care."

Again, Phredia nods while sitting on Suwako's chest, then drops on her side, staring to the outside.

Kanako lazily lifts another bottle and says "ah... empty. Maybe we should go to the lake."

Suwako says "Sanae would kill us if we went without her."

Again, Phredia nods, then Kanako sighs and says "it's hot." then a yellow washtub falls right on her face, knocking her out cold.

Suwako lazily asks "was that another washtub?"

Quietly, Phredia nods once more while still staring outside.

-

To be continued...

Characters, scenario and spell cards belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou, Kyo, Luna, Agava and Phredia were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

DEC 15 2009

written by

Willie G.R

* * *

Random Sukima Interview part 9

Interviewer: Willie G.R.

Translator: Yukari Yakumo

WGR: Hello, and welcome once more to our interview with mister Random Sukima, with me, our Translator, Yukari Yakumo, and of course, mister Random Sukima him... er, her... umm... itself!

RS: *$)!~~

YY: Hello everyone. Oh, he says "hi everyone~~!"

WGR: Yes, well, since last interview ended so safely, we decided to continue the interview out here in this beautiful park, where all these lovely witne... I mean, people, can watch us as we do the interview. Now, mister Sukima, are you ready?

RS: (#*$^%^)GMW

YY: "Ready as ever. Fire away."

WGR: Great, that's great. Now, could you be so kind as to tell us what miss Shinki, the goddess of Makai, tasted like.

RS: $*)!!! ($*#_#% JGJEMG_#... (_$WCP#$_

YY: "Oh my!!! Well, I must say she was so yummy and soft and... she tasted like cotton candy."

WGR: *Eyes glint* Someone go get me some cotton candy on the double!

Worker 3: Sorry, there's none around, sir.

WGR: Ugh... Well, I guess it can't be... what the!? (Mister Sukima found it necessary to taste me. Though disgusting, being chewed on didn't feel as bad as I had hoped. Afterward, I was found on the small lake of the park and was promptly brought back.)

YY: Darling, that was some ride. How was it?"

WGR: I rather not say. Mister Sukima, what the HELL was that for!?

RS: )%$*#$)%) *%(# )_%$((%&!)( (!*#)(_$?

YY: "Relax, I just wanted to taste you. You know, you taste like a banana split with chocolate syrup. Can I eat you again?"

WGR: No, you can't! And now, there's probably a shadow of me running around, isn't there?

RS: #**%)!!! (%&$*(!#_$^

YY: "Hey!!! I already told you, all that stuff is special effects!"

WGR: Well then, our time, sadly, is up. Join us next time for out last interview with mister Random Sukima. Have a good one everyone! (After getting arrested for supposed armed robberies, I found myself living an action movie, where I defeated my shadow self and proving my innocence to the world. Safe to say... I'm going to get back at that Random Sukima for this.)


	22. Chapter 21

Morning in Gensokyo.

Satori and Orin fly toward the Hakurei Shrine as early as possible to ask Reimu for help in searching Okuu's shadow.

Orin stares at nothing, very distracted and almost crashing against trees, or taking many wrong turns.

Satori stares for a moment and Orin's thoughts of the party being held underground without her rush straight to Satori's mind.

She sighs and says "Orin, why don't you go and enjoy yourself?"

Orin looks back to Satori, seemingly confused, but she suddenly realizes what Satori said to her, then smiles and says "now way! I'd never leave you in a time like this, miss Satori!"

Satori smiles back, then says "thank you Orin, but you seem so sad, and you did help them a lot with the preparations."

Orin's smile vanishes, replaced with a sad expression as she looks to the ground, then says "I know, miss Satori. I really wish I could too, but you are very important to me, and I'd never leave you alone in a time like this."

Satori smiles tenderly as Orin lifts her face with a goofy smile and saying "and if something happened to you, I'd never forgive myself for leaving you alone."

A sweat-drop falls from the back of Satori's head as she forces a sheepish smile and asks "do I really look that unreliable?"

Orin panics, waving her hands all around herself and saying "no, no, no, no! I didn't mean it like that!"

Satori giggles, then says "relax. I know what you mean."

Orin calms down and says "miss Satori is unexpectedly playful, I see." then thinks "I better keep my mind off that party. I don't wanna hurt miss Satori's feelings! That's it... I'll think of soup and boiled eggs."

Satori sweats, as Orin's thoughts reach her as if she was talking directly to her, but keeps quiet about it.

She looks up ahead and says "ah look, the shrine! Let's go, Orin! Maybe Reimu will let us have a break so we can go to that party."

Orin is thinking "soup, boiled eggs, fish, boiled eggs... ah, I'm hungry." then Satori's words reach her, then she smiles and thinks "boiled party eggs with tuna in soup."

Satori just chuckles as they continue their way.

Meanwhile, further ahead at the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu says "...you know what you did. This is your punishment. Take responsibility for your actions and stop crying."

Rika salutes and replies "as you wish, m-my lady *sniffle*"

Reimu sighs and says "ok Mima, let's go."

Mima says "you're so cute" as she turns back out and flies away.

From Satori and Orin's point of view, it looks like Mima and Reimu enter the black gap willingly, until Mima flaps one arm, trying to push herself away from it.

Satori shouts "Reimu, wait!" but it's too late.

When she and Orin reach the shrine, Reimu is already gone.

Satori looks at Orin, who has her cat ears so low, they look like they aren't even there.

Satori pats Orin's head and says "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put your hopes up like that."

Holding back her feelings, Orin's voice cracks for a second as she says "n-no, it's alright miss Satori!"

From inside, looking glum, comes Rika and says "oh dear... visitors. Sorry, miss Reimu just left."

When she gets a better look, she smiles and says "oh, miss Satori, miss Orin! What a pleasant surprise!"

Satori says "ah, didn't meant to bother you, so well just be-"

Rika reaches for Satori's hand, but before she even reaches, a sudden surge of magical energy courses through all their bodies.

Orin's tails stand stiff and her hair and spine wiggle as the energy passes by.

Satori and Orin look at each other, then say at the same time "Okuu's shadow!"

Rika exclaims "a shadow!? Please, let me help you! I want to make it up to my lady, PLEA~~SE!"

Satori and Orin look at each other with surprise, then look back at Rika, and with smiles on their faces, they both nod, making Rika smile happily, making sure her spell card is in her pocket and saying "let's roll!"

-

On the northern outskirts of the Human Village, Okuu's shadow, with her long black hair and wearing a pastel-blue plaid overall skirt, a light pink shirt underneath; over her long black wings, a light pink cape that looks like daylight skies underneath, and black knee-high boots, flies from tree to tree, trailing a small rainbow behind her wings as she moves, and bringing all sorts of flowers to life upon landing, whether on three branches, or the ground itself.

She spots many hurt fairies and small youkai, and looks at them while curiously saying "unyu?"

She gets closer to all and touches them lightly, brushing some with her wings, and others with her hands, all springing back on their feet, fully healed and feeling happier than ever.

Some of the fairies feel so grateful, they fly to the shadow and either hug her neck, or kiss her cheeks before leaving, making S-Okuu say a happy "unyu~!" and waving at the fairies and youkai as they leave.

Hiding behind some trees, S-Byakuren watches disgusted at the sight.

She now wears a black bandanna with a skull design around her head in order to avoid being confused by another youkai again.

She clenches her left fist tightly and growl to herself "this is not good. A youkai that can heal OTHER youkai! Those stupid villagers didn't heed my warnings, so I guess I better take matters into my OWN hands."

She peeks around the tree once more, not noticing Minamitsu and the real Byakuren walking toward her.

S-Byakuren uses her magic and touches a rock, turning it into a long lance.

Still unaware of Minamitsu and Byakuren, the shadow says "alright. A quick thrust on the neck, and it's over!"

She raises her lance as she reveals herself from behind the tree, aiming at S-Okuu's neck, though the other shadow is too distracted with the fairies around her to notice the threat.

S-Byakuren, sounding mad and desperate says "an abomination like this must NOT be allowed! All youkai must die so humans can live in PEACE! Now die, you horrible abomination!"

The real Byakuren shouts "how can you SAY such horrible words!?"

S-Byakuren looks back and panics, lowering her lance for a moment.

She recovers from the shock and says "and here's my copy. The one that spread lies about how youkai should be treated same as gods!"

S-Byakuren raises her lance once more, then says "if I kill you now, I'll be saving this world from a terrible fate!"

Byakuren shouts "you are a horrible person! Youkai, gods and humans CAN share this work in harmony!"

S-Byakuren scoffs, then throws the spear, missing Byakuren by inches.

Byakuren turns around and gasps in horror as she watches Minamitsu sitting against a tree, impaled by S-Byakuren's lance.

Her eyes look empty as she gasps, then slowly closes them, expelling her breath as she does.

Byakuren whimpers "Mi.... Mini-chan?"

S-Byakuren takes advantage of the distraction and grabs a small rock, turning it into a dagger, then runs to Byakuren, but she magician turns around just in time, exploding with a magical aura.

She grabs a spell card and shouts "Magic - Omen in Purple Mist"

From all around her, Byakuren fires light-lilac droplet-bullets accompanied by intertwining lilac orbs.

S-Byakuren gasps, then shouts "no! This can't be. You're one of them too, which means... I am..."

She drops to her knees and starts to sob, then whispers "no. I... I am one of these monsters as well."

Byakuren's attack reaches the shadow, but all she does is look up with hatred in her eyes and shouts "you can BURN in this hell with ALL your monster friends!"

Byakuren's bullets reach the shadow striking her head and breaking her body, quickly turning her into black dust.

-

Byakuren cancels her attack once the dark dust vanishes, then turns around to look at Minamitsu.

She kneels beside the youkai and pulls out the lance, discovering it hit her just under her arm.

Byakuren stares at the small cuts under her arm and on her ribs and says "but.. this isn't lethal."

Byakuren gets closer to the youkai and notices she's snoring very lightly.

She sweats as she backs away from the sleeping Minamitsu, then a dark aura surrounds her as she smiles with a glint in her eyes, then raises her fist and in an instant, she strikes Minamitsu's head, waking her up with a throbbing bump on her head.

Minamitsu rubs her bump while pouting and shouts "OW~ Hijiri, what's the deal!?"

Byakuren continues to smile dangerously and says "well, good morning, you bad little Mini-chan!"

Minamitsu pouts some more and says "please stop calling me that."

She looks around, then gasps and asks "hey, lady Hijiri, where's your shadow!?"

Byakuren sighs, pats Minamitsu's head, then says "she's gone now. Let's just go home."

Minamitsu looks confused for a moment, but then she looks at Byakuren's smiling face and can't help but smile back.

Both are just about to leave, when they hear a "nyu~?" from behind.

They turn around and see S-Okuu, staring at them with her wide, sparkling black eyes with concern.

Minamitsu notices she stares at her to most and asks "y-yes, what is it?"

S-Okuu smiles and says "nyu! Nyu~!"

Her smile widens as she extends her arm toward Minamitsu's wounds, then lightly touches them.

A green light shines on the small cuts, and when the light vanishes, the wounds are completely healed.

Minamitsu and Byakuren stare on awestruck as S-Okuu simply smiles and lightly bows, then flies away toward the village, trailing a small rainbow behind her wings and saying "nyu-nyu~!"

Byakuren and Minamitsu continue to stare on, then Byakuren smiles and says "well that's one very special gift she has."

Minamitsu adds "very special... Umm, lady Hijiri, can we keep her?"

Byakuren chuckles and says "glad to see you are as well as ever."

She pats Minamitsu's head again, then says "no, someone like her needs to run free. Help wherever she's needed."

They start walking to the temple, Byakuren wrapping her arm around Minamitsu's neck, then Minamitsu asks "so... she's a policewoman?"

-

Flying above the village are Satori, Orin and Rika.

Satori says "it's faint, but I think it's to the north."

Rika smiles and says "yes. Once we capture this shadow, I'll be able to redeem myself to my lady Reimu!"

Orin bends her ears toward the back, and with a naughty expression in her face, she asks "so~, you're THAT kind of maid, huh?"

Satori strikes Orin on the head with her fist and angrily says "what have I told you about that!?"

Orin rubs her head with a stream of tears running through her cheeks, then curious, Rika asks "what do you mean by that, miss Orin?"

Satori smiles nervously and says "don't listen to her. Let's just focus here."

Rika nods with a smile as they continue their way north.

Unknown to them, S-Okuu is already in the village, staring at the people as they go about their daily lives.

She smiles upon the sight of young humans running and laughing as they head toward the school, followed by some more mature-looking humans.

Those look less amused than the younger ones.

As she walks further in, letting out some curious "unyu?", she leaves a trail of flowers and green grass that grow where she stands.

The children and the women are amazed by the many flowers growing all around the girl, and they all run and kneel to pick up the beautiful flowers, making S-Okuu look back and smiles with a quiet giggle.

She continues to walk to the center of the village, where the school is, regularly flapping her wings and releasing some small blue sparkles that slowly float to the ground, making more flowers bloom.

She finally reaches a large area with stone tiles set on the ground.

The moment she sets foot on the tiles, she notices nothing grows.

She taps with her left foot constantly, hoping to see something grow, but nothing happens.

By now, many curious villagers come to look at the visitor.

S-Okuu kneels on the ground and starts sniffing on the tiles.

Just then Maribel and Renko fly from their house and away from the village, getting S-Okuu's attention, but when she gets back up, not even the blue sparkles could grow anything on the tiles.

S-Okuu tilts her head to the right and asks "unyu?"

She extends her left arm in front and away of herself, and points the open palm toward the ground.

A massive orb of light blue energy quickly grows, and S-Okuu releases it, causing a large explosion that rattles the entire village, breaking away the many tiles from the ground, sending many flying all around, breaking roofs, walls and even some doors.

She looks at the newly discovered patch of earth and quickly flaps her wings while walking all over it, filling the entire area with all sorts of flowers of all shapes, sizes and colors.

Some of the villagers are surprised, but the rest are angrily waving their fists at the shadow, who doesn't understand what's going on and lets out a curious "unyu??"

She shakes her fist back at them while smiling and giggling, but this only makes the villagers even madder.

She looks around, still wondering what is going on, then notices the lack of flowers and trees inside the village.

She smiles and flies up, trailing a small rainbow as she does, then points her hands to the ground and start shooting many massive orbs of energy, breaking up more tiles, making sure not to hit a single villager.

The humans are now uncertain whether she is good, or just plain evil, then start screaming and running back to their houses.

S-Okuu smiles and starts to scream too while flying around the new patches of dirt and making more flowers bloom.

From the north, Satori stops, making the other stop as well.

Orin asks "miss Satori, is something wrong?"

Satori closes her eyes, then gasps, opening them again suddenly, then says with urgency "the village!"

Rika shouts "Oath Keeper" and enters her golden gate, come back out with a sword on her belt, and with determination and courage, she says "let's go!"

-

At Maribel and Renko's house, Medicine and Su-San desperately shake the unconscious humans, Kyo and Luna, after having being blasted by Yukari's danmaku letter.

Medicine, sounding a little scared, grabs Luna's shoulders while sitting on her abdomen and shakes her lightly, saying "come on! It's time to wake u~p! Please, wake up?"

Luna start to moan along with Kyo, who is having his hair pulled hard by Su-San, who quietly struggles to lift him up.

Medicine gasps with a smile on her face and hugs Luna as she gets up, asking "uuh... What just happen?"

Medicine lets go of Luna, then gets back on her feet, then Su-San lets go of Kyo, joining Medicine as she angrily stares at the two humans.

She stomps hard on the ground and says "you stupid humans! Don't do something like that again! I though you were dead!"

Sitting on the floor Luna rubs her head and asks "dead? What do you mean?"

Kyo groans as he sits up and in an angry undertone, he growls "Yukari~!"

Luna springs to her feet and shouts "that's right! That letter exploded on us! Grrr, when I get my hands on that old hag, I'm gonna rip her hair off!"

Kyo gets up on his feet as Medicine excitedly asks "can I watch!?"

Kyo rubs his head some more, thn says "good luck with finding her first. And if you do, good luck keeping her in one place."

Luna clenches her fists, glaring at the floor, but then takes a deep breath and calms down, then says "fu~ You're right. Let's just get cleaned up first."

Medicine hands each a white cloth, then says "I don't know. You guys look funny with burned faces."

Kyo and Luna look at each other through the corner of their eyes, then toss the cloths at Medicine, Luna saying "you and that doll are begging for a beating."

Medicine just chuckles as she pulls the cloths off her face, and Su-San starts flying in circles above Medicine.

Kyo points at Su-San, then asks "is that normal?"

Medicine's face changes, and with a very serious expression in her face, she says "danger's close!"

Just after saying that, a stray tile from the sky breaks through the roof of the house.

Kyo asks "but it was so sunny just a second ago."

Luna smacks the back of his head with a giant paper fan and angrily growls "stop being stupid! Somethings going on, so let's go check!"

Medicine shouts "I'm coming with you!"

Kyo pulls the amplifier he won off Agava some time ago, then places it around his waist and immediately activates it and takes to the air, followed by Luna and Medicine.

Inside the house, the large fruits portrait, forgotten, falls from the wall and makes a loud noise as it falls on top of other ornaments, getting Kyo and Luna's attention.

Both sweat and Luna, forcing a nervous smile, says "We'll tend to that later."

-

Above Keine's school, Keine herself faces S-Okuu, angrily saying "to be able to conceal yourself form me, even though you have this much power! What do you want? Why are you destroying the village!?"

S-Okuu looks both nervous and curious toward Keine, letting out a whimpering "nyu~~?"

Keine confidently says "oh, so you feign ignorance! There's no helping it. Evil youkai like you must be punished."

Keine pulls out a spell card, which makes S-Okuu smile and say "unyu-nuhyu!"

Keine glares and asks "are you making fun of me?"

S-Okuu simply smiles, but Keine takes this as an offense and angrily shouts "Spiritual Birth - First Pyramid!"

Keine summons 12 slaves that fire medium blue orbs around her, forming a large pentagram that after spreading, trap S-Okuu.

Keine herself fires 9 extra-large blue orbs in three directions in straight lines, making S-Okuu smiles as she dodges and admires the bullets.

Keine gets ever more angry, speeding up her attack.

Various of the medium orbs explode on S-Okuu, startling her and making her turn around to face directly at Keine, who simply continues to glare back with anger.

S-Okuu starts to sniffle and some tears escape her eyes, but her sad expression twists into a furious scowl, though the tears don't stop.

She points her hands at Keine and shouts "NYU~~!!!"

A massive light-blue orb materializes right in front of the shadow's hand, making Keine gasp and cancel her own spell to run away, but S-Okuu releases the blast before the teacher can get away to safety.

Keine screams in pain as the large energy orbs reaches her, then the orb simply flies upward, exploding high above in the sky.

S-Okuu stares awestruck as her own orb flies away, then tilts her head slightly to the right with a yellow question mark popping next to her face, getting her attention, making her let out a curious "nyu-ho?"

When she looks toward Keine again, she realizes Kyo is in front of the teacher, aiming his white energy shield upward.

She smiles and waves at him, then Keine says "do-don't let her fool you."

Luna flies to Keine and helps her float back down to safety, then joins Kyo and Medicine as they face the shadow.

S-Okuu smiles and flaps her wings, releasing blue sparkles that make even more flowers bloom on the ground, however, this time, even a tree starts to grow underneath her.

She looks down and smiles, then claps while shouting "unyu! Unyu!"

Kyo sweats and Luna asks "i-is she really evil?"

Kyo replies "of course she is. She attacked miss Keine."

Medicine looks curiously at the shadow and doubtful, she says "I don't know... She doesn't look too evil to me."

S-Okuu smiles again, then starts blasting the ground, breaking away the tiles and even some houses. Kyo shouts "she's evil, alright! Attack!"

Kyo rushes to S-Okuu while pointing his red energy sword on his right arm at her and holding a spell card and generating his white energy shield on his left.

The shadow turns her head, curiously looking at the attackers, asking "nyu?" and just as Kyo gets close, he shouts "Fire and Wind Sign - Desert Gales!"

Kyo's amplifier glows bright as the spell card activates.

Getting close to S-Okuu, Kyo's sword and shield vanish as he starts to shoot a stream of fire from his right hand, and a stream of wind from his left.

Both elements mix as they spin around Kyo and after generating enough speed, fireballs shoot out from the stream and home in on S-Okuu, startling her and making her fly away from them as fast as possible.

Hot wind blades now accompany the fireballs, heading straight to the shadow, but S-Okuu manages to fly above these while still running away from the fireballs.

-

Kyo thought he was close enough, but seeing the shadow manage to run away from his attack makes him think "oh great, I though I had her. Guess I need more training with magic, then."

He snaps out of his thoughts and shouts "Luna, Medicine, try and distract her."

Luna flies ahead, saying "I'm on it!" then Medicine and Su-San follow after Luna, shouting "wait, let me help!"

Luna fires many colorful danmaku daggers from her gun blades toward the shadow, making her stop, then Medicine spits out a thick cloud of purple poison, making the shadow stop and cough, and even so, S-Okuu manages to fly up high enough to lose Kyo's homing fireballs.

Taking advantage of the situation, Luna rushes to strike S-Okuu with her swords, but the shadow feels the human get closer, and unleashes a protective energy field that knocks Luna right off the air.

Kyo cancels his spell, just as a pair of wind blades and 4 more fireballs are about to reach S-Okuu.

He flies as fast as he can to Luna, catching her before she hits the ground, and before she is able to follow, Medicine feels a pair of hands embrace her from behind, making her panic and ask "eh? Wha? What's going on?"

S-Okuu presses Medicine against her chest while brushing her hair with her fingers and in a soothing tone she repeats "nyu, nyu, nyu."

Su-San tries to pull Medicine free from the shadow's arms, while Medicine shouts "guys! Guys, help!"

Luna and Kyo look back, noticing the little incident occurring now.

Luna whispers "what do we do now? She's got Medi."

Kyo whispers back "don't worry, we'll think of something."

S-Okuu continues to hold Medicine in her arms while flying back to the school to continue her work, but upon reaching her goal she realizes Kyo's fire burned all the flowers away, and left the newborn tree looking like a thin black stick.

Everywhere she looks, she only sees ash and burned earth.

She hyperventilates, Medicine worriedly asking "hey, miss raven shadow? Are you ok?"

S-Okuu starts to cry, shedding many tears for the burned flowers, but her tears become dry when she feels Kyo and Luna getting closer, glaring toward them as her eyes slowly fill with rage.

Before either human can realize what's going on, a massive energy orb strikes them hard on the face, both screaming in agonizing pain as the orb burns them, then explodes right on their faces, knocking them both out and falling right out of the sky, luckily falling on a small haystack.

Medicine shouts "no~!" and struggles to break free, shouting "let me go! Please, let me go! Kyo~! Luna~! Wake up!"

She expels poison from her body, startling the shadow and breaking free, and quickly flies to the unconscious couple and starts to smack their face softly, whispering "be ok. Please be ok!"

S-Okuu stares at her curiously, asking "unyu?"

Medicine turns around and angrily shouts "you idiot, look what you did!"

From behind the shadow, Orin says "whoa... Okuu? Look, miss Satori, it's Okuu without that nuclear god thing!"

Satori softly growls and says "I... I can't read her thoughts. Orin, Rika, you two be extra careful!"

S-Okuu stares at Orin and Satori with great interest and curiosity, while Rika lands on the ground and confidently says "time to honor my lady Reimu. I'll exterminate this dangerous shadow in the name of my lady Reimu and the Hakurei Shrine!"

She unsheathes her japanese sword, which has a glowing yellow band on it's un-sharpened side, then she raises it to head-height, pointing the tip away from her face as she stares toward the shadow with confidence and determination, then runs toward S-Okuu with great speed.

-

Reaching the shadow, Rika swings her sword, trying to cut the shadow's neck in one swing, but S-Okuu's reflexes match Rika's speed, dodging every single attack as easily as breathing.

After many attempts, Rika backs away, sweating and panting, then surprised, she says "this is incredible. She's matching my speed without even breaking a sweat."

From behind, Satori shouts "Wait, Rika, stop!"

Orin asks "miss Satori, what is it?"

Satori trembles as she looks at S-Okuu, then says "this... this isn't right! We shouldn't be attacking like this."

Orin asks "what? You read her mind? What did you see!"

Satori looks serious for a moment, then says "no... I haven't. It's something in my heart.... I feel... I think we are doing the wrong thing here."

Orin looks at Satori with concern, then lowers her ears and says "maybe..."

Before Orin finishes, Satori says "no, it's not that, Orin. It's something else."

As Rika continues her assault, S-Okuu smiles and dodges as if it were a game.

While this happens, Satori says "it's not just because she looks like Okuu. There's something in her eyes... and my heart keeps telling me something, but I don't fully understand. I just have a bad feeling."

Orin looks to Satori a bit confused, but keeps silent.

Rika continues her attack, but again, she backs away then raises her sword, placing her left hand on the broad side of it, closing her eyes as if praying, then her hands start glowing yellow.

She punches the ground 3 times, each punch unleashing a pillar, each taller than the next, then shouts "Tenroumetsuga Saiha" and quickly slashes the pillars with her sword, sending them toward S-Okuu, who manages to jump over the first two, but then gets hit hard on the stomach by the last one, falling on her back on the ground.

She slowly gets back up, rubbing her stomach, then see's Rika headed her way, so in a frightened impulse S-Okuu shouts "UNYU~!" and unleashes a barrage of massive orbs that scatter all around, one of them successfully striking Rika and stopping her attack.

S-Okuu looks around and notices her blasts destroyed more houses and even some plants.

She forgets about Rika and walks to the plants, restoring all of them as quickly as she can.

Rika's temper rises as she gets up and thinks "no, this can't be! I'm failing my lady! This is not fair, I've been training so much! No! I can't lose. I HAVE to win!"

Satori reaches Rika and shouts "Rika! Rika, stop!"

Rika tries to ignore Satori, but both she and Orin get in her way.

Satori says "please, miss Rika, stop!" Orin says "let miss Satori and me handle this!"

Satori stares at Rika and says "no, you won't be disgracing your mistress."

Rika looks a bit surprised at Satori, then says "oh, mind reader... I forgot."

Satori stands in Rika's way, looking back defiantly, Orin joining her promptly.

Rika says "you two can rest. I'll take care of this."

Rika's eyes suddenly glow purple for a moment, but quickly return to their light-blue self.

Satori tires to stop her once more, but Rika quickly jumps over the two youkai, then chases after the shadow.

-

S-Okuu stands right in front of a house when she sees Rika headed her way.

The shadow fires a few defensive shots, slowing Rika down a bit, but quickly realizes she's not stopping, so she tries to fly away.

Rika angrily shouts "you're not getting away! Earth Sign - Ressaishouha"

Rika forgets to pick her card form her pocket, making her skirt rise up as the card activates.

Rika grabs her skirt and struggles to push it back down, making S-Okuu stop and look at her curiously, then mimics her by hitting her own skirt with her hands. Rika shouts "Stop making fun of me!" then jumps to the sky and lands just in front of S-Okuu, cutting her escape.

Upon landing, the ground under her breaks when she bangs the ground hard with the broad side of her blade, making a small shock wave that sends many boulders flying straight at the shadow, who screams "UNYU~~!" while looking very surprised and shocked as she dodges each and every boulder with ease.

Rika jumps once more, unleashing even more boulders after landing to the left and furiously banging the sword on the ground with it's broad side, and again to the right, then behind S-Okuu, sending more and more boulders every time she lands and bangs the blade.

S-Okuu manages to dodge all the boulders with ease, now smiling as it all seems like a game to her.

Rika gets mad and asks in a mocking tone "so it's fun you want?"

Again, she jumps and lands, banging her blade, breaking the ground underneath and sending more boulders, this time accompanied by yellow danmaku orbs.

S-Okuu smiles as she dodges the bullets and boulders with ease, but a loud cracking sound gets her attention.

The house she's standing in front of now has many large holes on it's walls, caused by Rika's boulders.

S-Okuu looks worried and says "unyu. Unyu!" and desperately points at the house, trying to make Rika stop, but Rika doesn't stop, so S-Okuu, her black sparkling eyes filled with determination and purpose, opens her hand and fires one large light-blue orb, but Rika bounces it back, making the shadow jump out of the way and avoid more boulders along with her own shot.

After the orb explodes, S-Okuu unleashes an even larger orb that Rika is unable to send back, making her shriek and open her eyes wide just as the orb explodes on her.

The shadow lands in the center of the attacks and looks around at the mess caused by the battle.

By then, Satori and Orin arrive, startling the shadow raven, but Satori manages to calm her down, talking in a soothing voice and saying "it's ok... we're friends. We are going to help you."

S-Okuu stares at Satori with great interest, and flinches a little when Satori extender her arm to her head, but she calms down when Satori says "we're not going to hurt you. I promise."

Letting Satori pat her head, S-Okuu smiles contently as Orin looks around and says "what a mess."

-

Yukari opens a gap next to Satori and S-Okuu, then says "oh my... what's going on here?"

She looks at Satori and S-Okuu and asks "a shadow? Are you going to exterminate it?"

Satori shakes her head and says "no, no, there's no-"

Satori gasps as both she and Yukari feel a tremor of magic.

Yukari asks "i-is that y-y-you?"

Satori shouts "Rika! Rika, calm down! RIKA!"

Rika slowly gets up and looks at the mess to her right, noticing the holes on the houses made by her spell.

She then looks to the left and sees burning roofs and more broken houses.

The house close by crumbles and levels to the ground.

Yukari looks at it and says "oh dear.. those girls are having a very bad day."

Rika thinks "this... I did all of this? NO! It was that shadow!"

Rage fills Rika's heart as she continues thinking "this... was all caused by HER. SHE made me do it. My lady! My lady Reimu, she made me FAIL YOU!"

By now, Satori realizes her screams aren't doing anything.

She looks at S-Okuu and shouts "run away, NOW!"

S-Okuu simply smiles, then hops toward Satori, like a grounded bird that refuses to use it's wings.

Satori shouts "miss gap youkai, make her go away!"

Yukari stares at Rika, but says nothing.

Rika's eyes turn purple, her hair starts waving on it's own, even though there is no wind.

Her Oath Keeper card floats on it's own and opens up, it's energy as purple as Rika's enraged eyes.

Rika quickly enters the gate and comes out with four swords on her belt. Two to the right side, two more to the left.

She continues to stare at S-Okuu, then Satori, once again gets on her way and shouts "Rika, don't! Calm down! You haven't failed anybody!"

Orin comes from behind Rika with her wheelbarrow, trying to knock her out, but Rika jumps out of the way, so Orin continues to run and shouts "GET ON!"

Yukari continues to stare at Rika awestruck, covering half of her face under her fan, then narrows her eyes and says to herself "Yukari, you have to help those girls. There's no time for this!"

After Orin knocks Satori and S-Okuu on to her wheelbarrow, she shouts "gap lady! Run away!" then continues on her way.

Yukari looks some more at Rika, who glares back with her purple eyes, then quietly heads back inside her gap, sighing and saying "guess I can enhance a few apples."

After everyone leaves the area, the enraged Rika floats up to the air and screams at the top of her lungs, emanating so much dark energy, it makes the ground shake.

At the school, Keine's skin crawls as the dark energy and the scream reach her.

Medicine helps Luna sit up, then asks "miss Keine, are you sure you're ok?"

Keine nods, then says "help me gather the villagers. Keep them all as FAR AWAY from the eastern side of the village!"

Kyo stands next to the confused Medicine and says "will do!"

Akyuu sits quietly in her room, drinking some red tea, when the enraged scream reaches her.

She spring up and runs outside, immediately looking to the sky, spotting Rika as she floats in the air.

She continues to stare with great interest and then whispers to herself "that girl... Those eyes... I've... seen something like this. Cursed blood? No... that can't be."

At the Forest of Magic, at Marisa's house, Marisa is digging under the house itself, making that basement by herself, when the dark energy waves reach her.

Marisa drops the shovel and says "that maid! She's doing it again!"

She grabs her hat and broom from the table, then lifts to the air, flying toward the village with haste.

At Alice's house, Shanghai is bringing a plate with some tea and snacks for Alice, when the dark energy waves reaches, making her drop the plate and fly around in circles, looking very nervous.

Alice shouts "are you alright!?"

Shanghai rushes to Alice and clings on her right shoulder, then Alice says "oh, now I have a set." revealing Hourai clinging on her left shoulder and trembling in fear.

Alice flies to the roof of her house and says "this is wicked energy... it's coming from the village."

She continues to stare at the sky, spotting Marisa headed there, then says "hmm, seems Marisa's on it after all."

-

Exiting the village through the east, Orin continues to run as fast as her feet can take her.

Satori manages to comfortably sit next to S-Okuu on the wheelbarrow while looking at the sky behind Orin.

She gasps and says "Orin, she's here!"

Orin turns her head slightly, looking at the enraged Rika through the corner of her eyes, then says "tck! She's keeping up like it was nothing to her! Miss Satori, what do we do if she attacks?"

S-Okuu stares concernedly at Satori and Orin, and with a quick "u-nyun!" she jumps off the wheelbarrow and flies straight to Rika, trailing a small rainbow behind her.

Satori desperately shouts "no, don't! Orin, stop! Turn around!"

Orin lowers her ears a little, and sounding disappointed, she says "miss Satori, if there's anyone that can stop that girl now is that shadow. We can't do a thing now."

Satori replies "I still want to help her! Rin, she's just like Okuu!"

Orin twitches and stops running as her entire body trembles.

She looks at Satori, who gasps and says "I-I'm sorry."

Orin stays standing there, staring back at Satori with saddened eyes.

Meanwhile, S-Okuu fires a few large light-blue orbs at Rika, who dodges them with ease, then grabs one sword and swings it so fast that not even a blur is seen.

All the shadow manages to see is Rika placing the sword back, and a purple beam headed her way.

The shadow grabs the beam with her bare hands, using her own energy to protect herself, then sends it skyward, where it turns to nothing after a while.

Rika stops and glares straight at S-Okuu, then slowly pulls a dark spell card out of her pocket, and in a twisted and warped tone of voice, she says "Untitled - Darco Houryuu Zankouken"

Upon hearing that voice, S-Okuu flinches, covering her head with her arms, but she peeks and notices Rika is right next to her now, then flaps her wings to back away.

Rika grabs two swords, crossing her arms while doing so, then pulls them out.

She looks around the area, then stops when spotting S-Okuu again.

She glares at the shadow with her glowing purple eyes, then she strikes so quickly, all the shadow can do is protect herself by surrounding her body with her own light-blue energy.

When Rika disappears, S-Okuu's make-shift barrier disappears as she looks around and sees cut marks in the air all around her.

Rika reappears once more, and crossing her arms again, she sheathes her swords, and when they click in place the cut marks turn into dark bullets that scatter all around, confusing the shadow.

Rika smirks and again she makes more cut marks around the shadow, disappearing and reappearing, sheathing her swords and turning the cut marks in the air into bullets.

She repeats he attack, overwhelming the nervous shadow, who screams "UNYU~!" just as a thick concentration of bullets is about to strike her, but just before the bullets touch her, Satori comes from underneath and pushes her up and out of the way of the attack, screaming so loud her voice echoes far and wide as the bullets all explode on her.

Crying, Orin shouts "miss Satori! I'll save you!"

She runs with her wheelbarrow in hand, but she lets it go when she realizes she can't reach her master in time, speeding up and taking to the air, miraculously reaching Satori before her body strikes the ground.

Satori's clothes are torn and cut, her face is full of burn marks, her left sleeve is completely gone, revealing many more burn marks on her arm.

She trembles as she tries to keep conscious and asks "is she ok? Is Okuu ok?" then falls unconscious on Orin's arms.

Desperately, the nekomata calls for her master as her eyes fill with tears.

S-Okuu observes them, and inexplicably, a tear escapes her eye.

Rika continues her attack without pause, unaware of what she's done, however, the shadow has had enough.

Anger fills her heart as she watches Rika continue her assault.

She crosses her arms across her chest, placing each hand on her shoulders, then from her chest, a small light-blue orb expands slowly, and in a sudden blast, screaming "NYUUU~~!!!" the orb expands long past the shadow's body, breaking away Rika's attack and striking the enraged girl hard and knocking her down to the ground.

-

S-Okuu grabs Rika before she falls, and gently places her sitting against a tree close by, then rushes to Satori and Orin.

Orin can't stop crying as she holds her master, pressing her face against Satori's, then places her hand on her master's chest and gasps when she fails to feel a heartbeat.

"No! Mi... miss Satori, don't go! I can't follow you there! Miss Satori, don't leave!"

Despair is about to take Orin, when S-Okuu gently places her hand on her shoulder, softly saying "unyu."

Orin asks "wh-what is it?"

The shadow gently pushes Orin away, then places her hand on Satori's chest.

Her body glows light-blue, while Satori's starts glowing green and Orin tries to ask "what are you doing?" but S-Okuu starts glowing so brightly, she blinds Orin, who covers her eyes with her forearms.

Satori's body starts glowing more brightly as S-Okuu's silhouette shrinks fast, turning into a small white ball, then a blinding flash surrounds the area around them, reaching Rika as well as the sky, then vanishes.

Orin continues to cover her eyes for a little longer, but the moment she hears Satori gasp for air, the uncovers her eyes and shouts "miss Satori!!!" and gives her a tight hug, almost choking her.

Satori, out of breath, says "Orin... Orin you're choking me."

Orin lets her go apologizing, then asks "but... how? Miss Satori, you weren't breathing, or moving."

Satori gasps and asks "where's that shadow!?"

Both Orin and Satori look around, then Satori notices a small raven with a white zigzag pattern around her neck lying to her right, and picks it up.

The small raven lies limp on her hand, but quickly ruffles it's feathers,letting out a weak "caw" then accommodates itself on Satori's hand and falls back to sleep.

Satori smiles and grabs the raven with both hands, placing it against her chest and saying "she used a lot of her power to save me."

Orin looks curious and says "so that's why you're alive?"

Satori nods as she gently embraces the little raven, then says "I can see into her mind now."

Satori chuckles, then Orin curiously asks "what do you see?"

Satori says "a field of flowers as far as the eye can see. That's all she ever wanted... that is, until she met us."

Orin curiously says "so she likes us then."

Satori sees herself and Orin at the end of the flower field in the shadow's mind and says "you could say that."

Rika finally wakes up, holding her forehead in pain, then asks "wh-what happened? What are we doing here? What happened to the shadow?"

Rika slowly gets up along with Satori, then Satori lightly smiles as Rika gets closer to them and says "you beat that shadow, miss Rika."

Rika and Orin look surprised, and at the same time, Rika asks "I did?" and Orin asks "She did?"

Still smiling, Satori closes her right eye as she looks at Orin and says "why yes. That last attack you did calmed this little one down, and now she's become very docile."

Rika stares at the small raven, then smiles and says "so... I didn't disgrace my lady?"

Satori nods, and Orin, having caught on, says "you really impressed me and miss Satori, miss Rika."

Rika looks a bit confused, but then gasps when she notices Satori's state and shouts "oh my! Miss Satori, what happened to you?"

Satori smiles again, then says "oh, you know... A little accident. But I'm ok now."

-

It's now dark by the time Orin and Satori arrive to the cave leading back to the underground.

Satori continues to hold the small raven in her arms as they enter, then Orin, disappointed, sighs and says "the party's over already... Oh well. At least we are back in one piece, right miss Satori?"

Many bright lights of different colors suddenly turn on, and many of the underground dwellers shout "WELCOME HOME!"

At first, both Satori and Orin jump back, shocked an surprised,but Orin quickly recovers and smiles, then shouts "miss Satori! We didn't miss the party after all!!"

Yamame gets closer with a grin on her face and says "after all your help setting this up, even while helping Satori out, did you really think we'd start without you!?"

Orin smile widens as Yamame hands her a party hat and shouts "now let's party~!!!"

Holding two confetti poppers in one hand and pulling the strings with the other, Yuugi makes a small oni beside her jump in surprise, while to her left, Parsee holds hers, but doesn't pop it, staring angrily at it.

Yuugi asks "aren't you gonna pop it?"

Parsee asks "why didn't I get two, like you?"

Yuugi smirks and says "well, you can gi-"

Before Yuugi finishes her sentence, a green washtub falls on Parsee's head, making her fall to the ground and mutter "didn't... stop... spell..." then her confetti popper pops on it's own, releasing the confetti straight to the floor.

Yuugi smiles and says "now THAT'S the spirit!"

Yamame notices the small raven on Satori's arms and asks "oh, a new pet? What's her name"

Satori thinks for a moment, then says "this... is Petal"

Petal ruffles her feathers, releasing a small blue sparkle that makes a small pink flower bloom right out of the rocks, making Yamame gasp in admiration, then Satori smiles and says "I did say I wanted a small garden for the palace."

Yamame looks curiously, but then smiles and places a party hat on Satori's head and says "well, let's party now, then garden later!"

She pushes Satori toward the partying oni as she says "wait, no... too many people!!!"

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, dog Reimu is greeted by Rika, who managed to clean the floors and grounds of the shrine to the point of sparkling.

Reimu and Mima both say "wow~ so clean!"

Rika smiles and says "yes, and I even helped subdue a shadow today, my lady! All in the name of you and the shrine!"

Reimu and Mima open their eyes wide, then Reimu exclaims "another shadow incident!?"

Rika nods, then says "but with the help of miss Satori and miss Orin, I defeated the shadow. Now she's a simple baby raven."

Reimu looks suspicious and says "raven, huh?"

Rika happily nods, then say "oh please, come in. Miss Marisa has been waiting for you all day!"

Reimu jumps from Mima's arms and exclaims "Marisa is here!?"

Upon seeing the witch, Reimu says "Marisa, what a surprise! We haven't seen you around here for some time! What have you been doing?"

Marisa waves with a smile on her face and says "oh, you know... experimenting as always."

Rika sweats and says "I-I'll go get dinner now. Please wait at the table."

Mima sits next to Marisa and says "hope you're not experimenting with anything too dangerous now."

Marisa chuckles and says "no... not particularly."

Rika places 4 bowls or rice, soup and a large plate of steamed vegetables with cut fish in the center, then says "please, enjoy."

Reimu commands "Rika, you sit here and enjoy with us. You've been punished enough, and I believe you need a break after beating a shadow."

Hesitantly, Rika bows to Reimu and sits down.

Reimu takes the smallest bowl and taking a chunk of tofu from the soup, she bites down, then asks "so, Marisa. If you're so busy, why did you come here? Did you forget to buy food again?"

Marisa chuckles and says "no, it's not that."

She looks at Rika and smirks wickedly, then says "I came to visit you... and ask little miss Rika about her spells."

Reimu sips her soup, then says "I see. You do know Rika's spells aren't all that just yet, right?"

Rika cries "that's what I've been telling her!"

Marisa smirks again, then says "I guess... but I'm still interested, ze."

Defeated, Rika says "FINE! I'll go get you the book I used to learn what I know!"

Marisa smiles, claps her hands, then says "That's what I wanted to hear, daze!"

Mima smiles while holding her chop-sticks in her mouth, wraps her arm around Marisa's neck, then says "that's how you do it!"

Marisa continues to smile, but blushes while doing so.

Back at the village, Maribel and Renko finally reach their house, only to find that other than their drawers and their beds, the entire house has been leveled.

With their eyes cast in a black shadow, Renko says "Mary... our house... again."

Maribel quietly nods, then says "at... least our clothes are... safe."

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Kyo, Luna, Agava and Petal were created by Willie G.R.

Kyo's spell card: "Fire and Wind Sign - Desert Gales" was created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

Rika's spell cards: "Earth Sign - Ressaishouha" ((Earth Sign"Crushing Eagle")), and "Untitled - Darco Houryuu Zankouken" ((Untitled"Dark Dragon Glare")), were created by Snapshot2010

Some assistance by Snapshot2010

DEC 18 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

Random Sukima Interview part 10 - Final Interview

Interviewer: Willie G.R.

Translator: Yukari Yakumo

WGR: Welcome, everyone, to our final interview with mister Sukima, who, regardless of all the troubles he's caused, still insists it did nothing.

YY: You are just sure for having to beat your own shadow.

WGR: ... As you can all see, we are back, our building completely restored, and ready for any incident that might happen. So, mister Sukima, are you ready to reveal the last two victims tastes?

RS: )$!(!)* JFJVN#(() V)Y#%()^$(F

YY: "As always, I'm ready for this."

WGR: Well then, tell us the taste for little miss Yuki!

RS: Mmm **)#&*$# )$&%*(VMDO!

YY: "Mmm, she tasted like sun-dried tomatoes. A little better than expected!

WGR: Hmm... For a moment there, I though you were going to tell me she was full of spice.

YY: Did you say something?

WGR: Whatever. Now, you saw what happened to her shadow, and now I ask you the flavor for miss Utsuho Reiuji, also known a Okuu!

RS: UUU~ )$&!#$)_%G JD_Q_$#!G )##*#TGR!!!

YY: UUU~* That one was particularly delicious! She tasted like hot brownies! Even the texture was perfect!!!

WGR: That sounds like a REAL treat! Well folks, thank you for joining us during these interview. Before we say our goodbyes, I'd like to say a few words. *ahem*

RS: I would like to say a few words myself. First of all, thank you for having me, and thank you for presenting me to the world. Now, I have many movie deals and the money just rolls in. Mister Willie... thank you, from the dephs of my void.

WGR: Wait a minute, WHAT THE HECK!? You can talk!?

RS: Well of course. What did you think, that I'm some sort of barbarian? I TOLD you already, all that stuff is special effects.

WGR: Then WHY did I hire miss Yukari as a translator in the first place!?"

YY: Fu fu fu fu. I expect to see my pay-check in the mail as promised. Ciao now. *blows kiss*

WGR: Ugh! Though irritating, gotta say... You just can't stay mad at that youkai! (Promptly after the show ended, I received the bill for the building repairs and miss Yukari's pay. I now sleep under a bridge, at least until all my debts are payed.)


	23. Chapter 22 A Scarlet Shower 1

Three weeks have passed since the last shadow incident, which took place in the Human Village.

Petal has made a full recovery and spends her days around the courtyard of the Palace of the Earth Spirits, bringing a large beautiful flower garden to life, even though the ground is solid rock.

For some unknown reason, she hasn't been able to turn to human, but it seems she doesn't really mind.

Okuu herself has taken a liking to Petal and treats the tiny raven like a child, constantly going into bird form and roosting with Petal under her wing.

Though being Okuu's shadow, a hell raven, Petal is weak against the heat, so both Satori and Okuu prevent her from following into the deep caverns.

Petal has already tried to enter 3 times, almost falling in the lava the last time, but thanks to Orin, she is saved.

From that last experience, though, the little raven has given up on following Okuu into the depths of the former hell.

Maribel and Renko, having had their home destroyed, yet again, have been living in the Hakurei shrine again, however, to the surprise of many, this has made Reimu quite happy, despite her constant denial.

Everyone else's lives have gone back to normal... or as normal as lives get in Gensokyo, except for three cases.

Reimu and Ail are still in their dog forms, making Reimu a little edgy about the whole thing, while Ail seems to be getting accustomed to his dog body.

Both think of going to Eirin's Clinic, however, word has reached them that Entei has had it's share of trouble, and seems they still haven't recovered.

After S-Reisen's last blow to Reisen, the moon rabbit has lost a lot of her physical strength and stamina.

She has constantly collapsed while helping Eirin, so now she spends most of her time either sleeping, or just sitting in her futon.

Eirin has tried all sorts of drugs, remedies and potions, but seems nothing is working.

Desperate, Eirin has decided to ask Reimu for help in this matter, but without Reisen's help, she hasn't been able to find the right time to go to the Hakurei Shrine.

Lucky for her, she is headed their way instead, accompanied by Sanae, Budou, Ail and Rika.

As for the third case...

-

Morning at Entei.

Eirin enters Reisen's room with a bowl of rice and some carrots along with some tea on a tray.

After entering, she notices Reisen already awake, wearing a light violet robe, sitting inside her futon with her back against the wall right beside her bed.

Eirin smiles and asks "still hurts when you use the bed, huh?"

Reisen, looking dreadfully exhausted, nods and says "I'm no use to you like this, master."

Eirin shushes her as she kneels down and places the tray on the floor next to her and says "eat up. I placed a new medicine in those carrots that might just do the trick."

Reisen weakly smiles at Eirin, grabs a carrot, and slowly bites down the tip, chewing slowly and swallowing with some effort afterward.

Eirin observers her for some time, then asks "anything?"

Reisen's eyes turn light blue as she says "hmm... I feel a little ticklish."

Eirin sighs in defeat, then says "well, I'll keep trying, just don't go giving up on me, ok?"

Eirin manages to smile at Reisen, even though her insides burn with overwhelming sadness.

She wishes she could let it all out and cry with Reisen, but she keeps a strong front, trying to keep Reisen from losing hope.

Reisen smiles back, making her feel more soothed and at ease.

Eirin gets up and says "I'll be back to check on you later."

Without lifting her sights, Reisen quietly nods.

Eirin says "don't give up, Udonge. You'll get better. I promise."

Eirin walks out of the room, closing the sliding doors after doing so, then says to Tewi "please pick up the tray when she's done."

Tewi quietly nods as Eirin says "I'll be at the clinic if you need me."

Eirin walks out of the mansion and promptly heads to the clinic.

The moment she enters and closes the door, she places her right hand on her face and says "at this rate, only the Hourai Elixir will save her."

Eirin places her back against the door, crossing her arms across her chest and remembers when she hears S-Reisen say "your solar plexus. Enjoy your last moments in life... if you can."

Reisen's scream, along with the blast from S-Reisen repeat themselves in Eirin's head, making her clench her teeth and desperately place her hands on her ears, hoping to make the sounds go away, and just like that, she takes a deep breath and says to herself "you are Eirin Yagokoro. If you can't save her life, then nobody else will, but you need to focus and regain control. Yes... I need to focus. I can find a way to save her without the Elixir; I know I can."

From outside, Kaguya hears everything, and covering her mouth with her long sleeve, she quietly runs back to the mansion, where she quietly tells Tewi what's happening.

About an hour pass and Eirin is just about to give up, almost falling asleep while looking through medicine books that might help her.

Frustrated, she closes the book she has in front of her, then places her elbow on it and rests her head on her hand.

Her frown disappears almost instantly when she hears Reimu's squeaky dog voice loudly calling "hello~~! Anybody there!?"

Hope once again fills Eirin's heart as she rushes out to greet her guest.

-

After the shock of meeting the dogs, Reimu and Ail on Sanae's and Rika's arms, Eirin manages to prepare some tea and snacks, placing them on the table and saying "please, forgive me. This tea isn't as good as Udonge's"

While Tewi pokes Ail's ears, Reimu, sounding as casual as ever, asks "so you didn't even know you were missing such a dangerous drug?"

Eirin shakes her head and says "that is... was.., Udonge's job."

Still being poked at, Ail raises his left eye-brow and asks "was?"

Eirin sighs and sits down, crossing her legs under her dress, and placing her hands on her knees, she says "let me explain. Both Udonge's and my own shadow came here and caught us all off-guard."

By now, Tewi stops poking Ail's ear and just backs away, looking away from the table and back to Reisen's room.

After Eirin, Kaguya and Tewi explain what happened, Ail and Reimu look at each other for a moment, then Eirin finishes by saying "I tried all I can, but she's just not recovering. If this keeps up, she's going to die in just a few days."

Tewi twitches after hearing Eirin say that, but keeps quiet and pretends to not care as she walks outside.

Reimu and Ail both look at Eirin and Kaguya, then Reimu says "you do understand that in our current state, there is very little we can do."

Both Eirin and Kaguya look at each other, then sigh while looking to the floor, but Ail adds "but don't go losing hope. Combining our powers, with Phredia's, I am sure there's something we can do."

Phredia flies from under Budou's hair and takes to the table, where Reimu asks "can you help us?"

Phredia smiles and nods at Reimu, then to Ail, then Budou says "I wanna help too!"

Sanae smiles and says "well of course you are!"

Ail adds "we need you to look at Reisen and tell us if you see anything bad inside her."

Rika politely asks "miss Reimu, mister Ail, are you sure it can be that simple?"

Reimu wags her tail and says "we just need to have faith, right?"

She looks to Ail, then notices her own wagging tail.

She growls and shouts "ugh, this STUPID tail! Get over here!!!"

Running in circles after her own tail, Reimu barks madly as she tries to bite down on the still wagging tail.

Rika grabs Reimu before she manages to bite down on her own tail and says "my lady, you need to take it easy."

Reimu sighs and says "I'm sick of this dog body."

Ignoring Reimu, Ail says "let's go and see Reisen now."

Eirin nods and stands up, Ail and Budou promptly following her, then Reimu, Rika and Sanae follow afterward.

Slowly opening the sliding doors, Eirin softly says "Udonge. You have visitors."

Reisen, still siting with her back against the wall besides her bed, still inside her futon, slowly turns her neck to look at the door, spotting Sanae, Rika and Budou around her master.

She manages to smile and weakly says "well, hello everyone. Thanks for visiting."

Ail and Reimu stand right on front of Reisen, unnoticed by her, until Ail says "my, this is worse than I thought."

Reimu, sounding preoccupied says "I hope it's not too late."

Surprised, Reisen opens her eyes wider as she looks at the dogs and says "oh my goodness... Mister Ail? Miss Shrine maiden? I-is that you?"

Ail looks at Reimu and asks "miss shrine maiden?" while Reimu looks at Ail and asks "mister Ail?"

Reimu turns her attention to Reisen and pats her leg under the futon and says "you'll be flying again, little moon rabbit."

Reisen raises her left crumpled ear and stars at Reimu with confusion and a bit of surprise.

-

Ail and Reimu look at each other, both holding their chests.

Reimu asks "you feel that too?"

Ail nods, then looks at Reisen, then asks "do you really wish to just die like this?"

Reisen gasps and Eirin angrily asks "what? Reisen Udongien, you can't let yourself die!"

Kaguya forces herself though Sanae and Rika, kneels beside Reisen, past her head, then looks at Eirin, seemingly angry at her, then says "Eirin, this is my order to you. Let Inaba decide on her own!"

Reimu and Ail both look at Eirin and Reimu says "for this spell to work, the target must willingly accept it, or it won't work at all."

Eirin know she can't refuse an order from Kaguya, so defeated, she sighs then ask "at least tell me... why?"

Reisen smiles as she looks at her master, then looks toward the window and as a few fairies fly by, she says "being like this made me realize I am paying for all my misdeeds, Master. Abandoning my friends back at the moon, having such selfish feelings, wanting to be treated better just because I feel bad... and for trying to kill you. I really did believe all my shadow said to me."

Eirin takes a deep breath through her nose, crossing her arms across her chest and closing her eyes.

She opens them again, and looks sternly at Reisen, then says "if that is how you feel, then die like the coward you are!"

Everyone, except Ail and Reimu, gasp at Eirin's harsh words.

Even Reisen lifts her ears and opens her eyes wide, looking at her master.

Eirin continues "if you were brave, you'd live on and better yourself as atonement for all of those misdeeds of yours. But... the princess is right. This is your choice. I can't make it for you, so die a coward's death, Udonge."

Eirin turns her back to Reisen as she leaves the room and as she passes by Rika and Sanae, she says "know that you'll still be missed." then leaves.

Reisen lets her crumpled ears drop as she quietly thinks, then Ail says "Budou, please take a look at miss Reisen."

Before letting go of Budou's shoulders, Sanae asks "what for? You heard what they said."

Ail smirks and says "loud and clear."

Sanae looks surprised at Ail, then at Rika, who shrugs while looking equally surprised, then lets go of Budou's shoulders.

Budou walks to Reisen and immediately, she starts staring just under her chest and above her abdomen.

There, she sees a tiny black orb sending dark purple energies all around Reisen's nervous system.

Budou screams and starts to cry "owie~! That hurts so much! Miss Reisen, nee-san, that must really hurt."

Reisen looks surprised at Budou, who just by looking at her knows all that.

Ail asks "what did you see?"

Budou closes her eyes as she points at Reisen's solar plexus and says "small dark spot. It's sending a lot of painful darkness all over her body!"

Sanae rushes to Budou, who immediately hugs her lightly around her waist, crying "it's horrible, mama~!"

Kaguya pats Reisen on the head, then says "I'll go check on Eirin while you make your choice."

Right after Kaguya, Budou and Sanae leave the room, Reimu gets closer to Reisen and asks "what's it gonna be?"

Phredia comes from outside the room and flies by Rika as she heads to the living room, joining Ail and Reimu, who stare at Reisen as she looks to the floor, lost in thought.

Ail smirks and says "let's get ready, you two."

Reimu smiles at Ail, then Phredia nods with a smile on her face as well.

Reisen asks "will this really work?"

Ail and Reimu smile at Reisen as they aim their arms in the air.

Reimu says "concentrate you energy on your hand. Phredia, mix your healing magic with my own."

A light-green orb forms around the palm of their little hands, to which Phredia adds a large light-yellow orb to it, making it glow gold for a moment, then it turns green again.

Reimu shouts "on three... THREE!"

Reimu and Ail jump straight at Reisen and force the light orb inside her body, making the entire room glow with a powerful bright light.

-

In the living room, Sanae sits with Budou on the floor, embracing her as she continues to sob, lightly patting her back to calm her down.

Eirin stands on the doorway, looking at the bright sky and says "autumn is almost here."

Rika quietly sits on her knees, looking to the floor and trying to say something to Eirin, but she can't find any words for her.

From Reisen's room, Reisen shouts at the top of her lungs "WHAAAAAAAA!!!"

All in the living room get the shock of their lives.

Even Budou stops sobbing and asks "what happened?"

Eirin fears the worse has happened, but her fear turns to another shock when Reisen's doors bang open and smoke comes from inside.

Everybody watches expectant toward the loud doors, when Reisen springs out of her room, surprising everyone, laughing loudly "WAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA~" holding Ail, Reimu and Phredia in her arms, all looking pale and about to die of asphyxiation.

She shouts "I'm cured! I can jump, run, scream, fly! Uuu~ Even the pain is gone, woo-hoo~!"

She spins on one leg, making her robe lift up, showing her bloomers to everyone in the room, but they all get distracted as she tosses the dogs and the fairy to the air, all landing safely on their respective companion's laps.

Kaguya celebrates with Reisen, jumping and cheering with her, then Reisen lets Kaguya go and rushes to her still shocked master and jumps on her, letting her bloomers show yet again as she hugs her master, saying "I'm all better now! I'm ok! I'm not useless anymore, Master!"

Reisen runs outside, skipping and twirling happily on her bare feet, enjoying the feel of the grass under them.

She runs around back, where Tewi sits, hugging her knees while sadly looking at one of her pitfalls.

She hides her face under her knees, but hearing her trap set off, along with Reisen's familiar scream, the black rabbit lifts her head up and sees Reisen smiling as she flies out of the hole and head her way.

Reisen shouts "I must say, I REALLY missed that!" then grabs the shocked Tewi and gives her a tight hug, then lets her go, forgetting they are high in the air by then, Tewi screaming at the top of her lungs a she falls to the ground.

After landing, Tewi rubs her head as she struggles to get up, then looks up to the sky toward the happy and crazy moon rabbit, then smiles and as a tear escapes her left eye she says "Reisen... *sniffle* Time to dig deeper holes, heh heh."

Inside, while Reisen happily flies around, screaming her lungs off, Eirin bows to Reimu, Phredia and Ail, asking "I am ever so grateful to you. Please, is there anything you want in return?"

Ail ponders, then says "I'm good."

Phredia shakes her little head with a smile, then rushes back to Budou.

Reimu wags her tail and rapidly says "make me human again."

Eirin smiles and says "but... I still don't have an antidote."

Reimu slumps and whines as she lets out an "aww~!"

Eirin smiles, then says "I could have Udonge make you some nice dumplings. She's really good!"

Rika looks upset and is about to say something, when Reimu, while drooling, says "that sounds nice!"

Rika's eyes hide under a blue shadow as the scratches the floors with her fingernails and a blue aura surrounds her.

-

Meanwhile, at Mugekan, in the bushes surrounding the mansion, a black hat and a pair of pink wings tread along, trying to keep as quiet as possible.

Popping her head from under the bushes with a mischievous smile on her face, Yuki points to the mansion and says "see, I told you. This huge mansion is totally deserted and ready for the pickings."

Popping her head from under the bushes with a bored look on her face, Mai replies "are you sure about this? I'm feeling a small presence around here. Two... though the second one's back over there."

Mai points behind some small mountains behind them with her thumb.

Yuki continues to smile and says "ahh, you're just being paranoid. Come on, let's break in!"

Looking a little worried, Mai asks "wait, what do you mean 'break in'? You just said this place is deserted!"

Yuki points at the entrance of the mansion and says "so I was mistaken. Come on!"

Elly walks out of the mansion, resting her large scythe on her left shoulder, and stretches under the rays of the sun, saying "oh, another sunny day. Oh, I hope miss Yuka comes back again soon. I want to surprise her with all the arrangements I've prepared."

Inside in the mansion's dinning room, Elly has prepared a feast adorned with many decorations, including flowers of all sorts and colors, all in pots, of course.

Elly continues to smile, then blushes as she thinks how Yuka would praise her.

{ELLY'S IMAGINATION}

Yuka smiles and says "oh my, Elly, what a wonderful surprise. Come here and let me give you a little reward."

Elly blushes with sparkles around her eyes as she says "I did it all for you, miss Yukarin. There's no need for rewards as long as you are happy."

Yuka places an arm around Elly's waist and looking passionately into her eyes she says "I never said this reward was for you alone."

Elly stares back with dreamy eyes and opens her mouth as Yuka's face slowly gets closer to her own.

As they kiss, Elly passionately says "miss Yukarin~"

{END ELLY'S IMAGINATION}

Elly stands staring blankly to the sky, blushing and drooling as she fantasizes some more, and doesn't realize Yuki and Mai flying past her, Yuki smiling widely and Mai staring at Elly, looking a bit preoccupied.

After the two girls enter, Kurumi walks toward Elly, then snaps her fingers as she angrily stares at the gate guardian.

Elly snaps out of her fantasy with a shock, shouting "KURUMI!" Wh-when did you get here!? What did you hear!?"

Kurumi continues to stare angrily at Elly with a cute pout on her face, and sounding a bit annoyed, she says "didn't you just notice the two girls fly just above your head?"

Elly looks confused at Kurumi and asks "the humans are back?"

Kurumi sighs and says "let's just go get them out!"

-

Inside the mansion, Yuki and Mai arrive at the dinning room and look awestruck at the table with the feast and adornments of potted flowers all over.

Yuki exclaims "whoa. A meal worthy of royalty!"

Mai reluctantly says "Yuki, maybe we should just go back. I don't think we should be here."

Yuki smiles and says "are you KIDDING!? Look at that! Cakes, meats, fish, potatoes *gasp* even sweet dumplings! Oh, I'm taking a few!"

Mai says "wait, Yuki just stop!"

Yuki replies "they won't notice if it's just a few."

From the dinning room's entrance, a woman clears her throat loudly, getting Mai's attention, while Yuki simply grabs a piece of meat and a stick with dumplings and gorges herself, smacking her lips and throwing the bone and clean stick after finishing, then grabbing a large pitcher and drinking straight from it.

Elly's skin crawls, and a dark shadow surrounds her angry white eyes as she shouts "BE MORE DELICATE! Use a cup, you fiend!"

Kurumi enters the room and casually says "I think you're missing the point here."

Mai says "Yuki, I TOLD you this was a bad idea!"

Mai bows apologetically, but before she can say anything, Yuki shouts "ha-ha~! Watch who you're calling a fiend! I am a powerful warrior form Makai, and I'm here to punish evil creatures that steal from mansions!"

Mai sweats and softly says "isn't that was you're doing just now?"

Elly points her right finger at Yuki and shouts "how dare you!? I am Elly, and this is Kurumi, and THIS place is the house of my WONDERFUL master, miss Yukarin, and YOU are trespassing, so we're going to have to kill you."

Yuki smiles, then pulls her hat off and says "let's see you try!" then pulls out a black orb with a string on it's top.

She lights the string with a spark from her finger and while smiling widely she says "with this baby Marisa gave me, I am SURE to win.. eh? Wait..."

Yuki remembers Marisa asking her for help whenever she visited Gensokyo again.

Yuki gasps in horror and flings the bomb to Mai, who looks at it curiously and asks "what is this, Yuki?"

Yuki rapidly says "I'm sorry, gotta run!"

Yuki takes to the air as Mai desperately says "wha-WAIT A MINUTE! Yuki, you can't leave me-"

Elly shouts "you're not getting away, fiend!"

Kurumi sweats and says "I.. think I'll be heading out now."

Yuki ignores everyone, then follows Kurumi, who nervously leaves the dinning room and heads outside the mansion.

Yuki shouts "I promised Marisa I'd help. You can do it, Mai. Remember your training~!"

Elly swings her scythe offensively toward Mai and says "well now, your fiendish friend has deserted you. Prepare for... *sniff sniff* Hey, is something burning?"

Mai curiously says "I think it's this black thing."

Elly points at it and casually says "oh, you mean that bomb?"

Mai opens her eyes wide as her entire body stiffen and shrieks "BOMB!?"

The entire dinning room explodes violently, and in just a few seconds, all of Elly's preparations become burnt ashes and rubble.

Both Mai and Elly groan as they get up form the floor, their faces and dresses covered in black powder.

Elly cries "no... my REWA~RD!"

Mai shakes her head, then shouts "YU~KI~~!!!" so loud, her voice echoes all the way to the SDM, where Meiling looks to the east and asks "a siren?"

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Rika mops the inside of the shrine, while Sanae, Mima, Maribel and Renko enjoy a dip in the hot springs, even though the day is still quite warm.

Budou and Luna sit by the donation box, watching as Reimu manages to sweep the leaves from around the shrine while holding the large broom with her tiny hands.

A small twig flies past Reimu's head, then Ail, knocking many piles of leaves while chasing it, catches the twig just before it reaches the stairs.

Reimu growls and says "Luna, could you get that husband of yours to behave!?"

Luna sighs as she flaps her hand around her neck and says "it's too hot."

From the side of the shrine, Kyo laughs, unable to control himself as Ail comes back looking proud with the twig in his mouth and walking on four legs.

Reimu growls and aggressively says "Kyo, if you don't cut the crap, I'm gonna--"

Kyo points at the dog Reimu and says "what ARE you going to do, you cute wittle puppy with such a pwetty dwess!"

A chomping sound makes Budou wince as she asks "whoa, large brother, are you ok?"

Reimu bites down hard on Kyo's ankle, but Kyo looks as calm as ever and laughs as he strikes a manly pose, placing both arms on his waist and expanding his chest, then says "are you kidding!? I'm a man! I can take it!"

Reimu lets go of his ankle and says "pleh! disgusting... and didn't have any effect."

Rika instantly appears on Kyo's right and says "my lady, I might be able to help you."

Rika takes a deep breath as yellow energy courses though her, then she points her hands toward Reimu, then she also gets surrounded by yellow energy, then all stops.

Reimu asks "what just-?"

Rika says "your teeth, my lady."

Reimu bares her sharp teeth and all seem covered in metal.

Kyo sweats a little, but keeps his manly pose as Rika says "I used an earthly defensive spell and modified it to surround your teeth instead of you. Go ahead, try it out."

As she says this, a glint escapes her eye and Reimu flips her thumb up at her.

Kyo defiantly says "go ahead and try little pup. I can take it!"

Without question, Reimu bites down hard on Kyo's ankle.

At first, he continues to look confident, holding his manly pose, but he suddenly takes a deep breath and as tears escape his eyes he starts running in circles, screaming like a girl.

Rika laughs and says "that's my lady!"

From the donation box, sounding worried, Budou says "miss Luna, I think you should go save him."

Luna lazily replies "he's a man. He can take it."

Kyo continues to run in circles around the shrine, screaming like a girl some more, until he crashes against a tree, knocking Aya from it and holding on to it tightly.

He shouts "ok, ok, I give! Just let me go already!"

Reimu miraculously complies, letting go of Kyo and standing on her feet on the ground.

She looks at her stomach while holding it with her hands and says "whoa... I feel funny."

A loud popping sound echoes all around the shrine and some white clouds surround Reimu.

Rika shouts "miss Reimu are you alright?"

When the clouds disappear, they reveal Reimu has returned to her normal body, and besides her on the floor, the shapr metal plating that surrounded her dog teeth.

Reimu pats herself curiously while Rika exclaims "miss Reimu, you're back!!"

Reimu says "I'm.. back to my old self! WAAA-HA~!! I'm back to normal!!!"

Rika and Reimu hold hands as they jump around in circles, celebrating Reimu's return to her normal form.

From the hot spring comes Sanae, wearing a white swimsuit and looking a little angry as Reimu celebrates, then says "wait, that's not fair. What about Ail?"

Reimu and Rika stop celebrating, then Reimu looks at Ail, who is jumping around, saying "come on~! Someone throw the stick already!"

Reimu casually says "he seems fine to me."

Sanae growls softly, but sighs and calms herself, then says "I'm going back to the spring.

-

Flying at high speeds, Yuki cries "come on~, I said I was sorry~!"

From behind her, small white orbs, larger white orbs, and sets of snowflake-danmaku bullets graze her all over her body, making her cry twin waterfalls as she screams "come on, I'm serious! I'm sorry~!"

From behind, looking enraged and hungry for blood, Mai, Elly and Kurumi continue to chase after Yuki, firing their bullets as fast as possible, Mai shouting "you're gonna PAY!"

Elly shouts "MY REWARD!"

Kurumi shouts "trespassers but be PUNISHED!"

On the ground close to toe Temple of Myouren, Byakuren's temple, Nazrin sits on the grass, surrounded by many mice friends as they all eat bits of foods from Nazrin's basket.

An explosion startles the mice, making them all run away back to the temple.

Nazrin looks to the sky and asks "what's that noise?"

Yuki flies by, shouting "I'm serious, I have to help Marisa~! Waah~! Help me Ail!"

From behind Mai flies by, still shooting snowflakes at Yuki and shouting "get BACK here!"

Nazrin chuckles and says "well that's something you don't see every day."

From her right, Elly clears her throat, then says "so YOU are Ail. Hmph! I don't see what Yukarin sees in you."

Annoyed, Nazrin glares back at Elly and Kurumi and as she gets up on her feet she asks "who the heck are you?"

Elly says "I am your executioner, Elly, and this is my side-kick, Kurumi."

Angry, Kurumi flaps her wings as she hovers above Elly and strikes her head hard with her fist, saying "I'm nobody's side-kick!"

Nazrin continues to stare annoyed and suspicious at the two youkai as Elly rubs the back of her head.

Elly immediately recovers and points at Nazrin, shouting "well that doesn't matter, Ail! Once I take care of you, my Yukarin will be ALL MINE again, WAHAHAHAHA~!"

Narrowing her left eye, still staring, Nazrin says "hey, idiot. I'm not Ail."

Kurumi looks at Elly and says "told you~"

Elly points toward the sky and says "that crazy girl called you Ail, so don't try to confuse me with your lies, Ail!"

Narrowing both eyes and swaying her tail angrily from left to right, Nazrin says "I'm NAZRIN, not AIL."

Elly laughs maniacally as she raises her scythe and shouts "DIE~~!"

Nazrin flips, twirls and spins in place, using her tail like a whip, striking Elly all over her body and knocking her to the ground with thin red marks all over her face.

Kurumi covers her eyes with her small hands, and when the cracking sounds stop, she peeks through her fingers and spots Elly on the ground with her scythe to her side, and smiling like a goof while looking toward the sky with empty eyes.

Calmly walking back to the temple, Nazrin says "your friend's gonna be sore for a while. Make sure she doesn't scratch those. It'll sting like hell if she does. See ya."

Kurumi sighs as she helps Elly sit back up and says "you idiot, you need to be more careful."

Elly mumbles "stings... dance.... bloomers."

Kurumi pats Elly's head and with a smile on hr face she says "so glad to see you're fine."

-

Having being persuaded by Reimu's needles, Sanae sits quietly on the Shrine's porch, still being resentful that Reimu reverted back to her human self, while Ail stays a dog, even though they both transformed at the same time.

What makes Sanae even angrier is Ail's aloof attitude to the matter.

Agava and Rumia land in the shrine grounds, both looking a little nervous. Before even Rika can greet them, Reimu calls them from inside the shrine "you two, get in here!"

Both wince after hearing Reimu's voice, then slowly head toward the entrance, walking past Rika, who quietly bows to them, striking her own head with her broomstick.

They walk past the pouting Sanae, who continues to pet dog Ail as he sleeps on her lap, and upon reaching the doorway, they slowly peek inside.

Reimu is sitting on the floor with a large scroll that reads "Shadows" and various names checked. Only three names remain unchecked on the list.

Reimu raises her head to the youkai and with a smile on her face, she says "welcome. Please, come in, sit next to me."

Hesitantly, the two youkai walk closer to Reimu, and each sit beside Reimu, where she points them to sit.

With a dangerously angelical smile on her face, Reimu tightly warps her arm around the two youkai necks and asks "didn't I ask you to take care of that lake?"

Agava and Rumia simply cry "we're sorry~!"

Reimu's smile turns to a dangerously happy grin as she says "now that I'm human again, I can't help but feel those vibrations coming from that lake, and let me tell you, they are VERY uncomfortable!"

Agava says "Reimu, I swear, we really tried!"

Rumia adds "but without Flandre, Kali kicked our butts!"

Reimu asks "and where is Flandre?"

Above the Scarlet Devil Mansion, a trail of white smoke quickly moves around the mansion's clock tower, then heads toward the human village.

Remilia holds her hat while sitting beside Sakuya, while Patchouli and Meiling sit behind them.

Remilia shouts "so this is why you were saving money!?"

Flandre shouts back "uh-huh! It was steep, but that gap lady came through! Best part, this thing will fly all over Gensokyo 10 times over before needing a recharge!"

Flandre holds the control of a roofless flying red vehicle that looks like a round saucer with seats on it.

Flandre shouts "let's see what this baby can do!"

Flandre jerks the steering wheel fast, making the flying vehicle spin, making Remilia scream in fear and making Meiling and Patchouli fall from the back.

Giggling, Flandre pulls the steering wheel hard, making the vehicle loop in the air and catching the two girls in mid-air.

Flandre shouts "OH YEAH~! This thing REALLY flies!"

Even Remilia is trembling violently after those stunts.

Flandre asks "are you ok, onee-sama?"

Remilia answers "yeah... I'm just fine... URK!"

Remilia holds her mouth as she feels a slight discomfort in her stomach.

Flandre smiles widely and says "alright then, put on your seat belts and let's see what this baby REALLY can do!"

All four shout "NOOO~!" but Flandre completely ignores them and speeds up and lowers so much, the underside of the vehicle brushes against a few tree-tops.

-

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu has released the two youkai from the headlock and is looking at the scroll for a moment.

Rumia asks "what will you have us do, miss Reimu?"

Reimu quietly continues to study the scroll, then sighs and says "I'm not sure anymore. From what you just told me, Kali's powers seem to have tripled since the last time."

{FLASHBACK}

It's night and Agava hangs limp on a tree branch while Rumia, holding her broad longsword in her hands, face off against Kali's human form right above the expanding red spot on the lake.

Kali confidently says "if you run away now, I won't chase you."

Rumia flaps her dark wings once, then lunges toward Kali, hoping to thrust the sword straight into her heart, but Kali sways to the left just as Rumia's sword is about to strike, then grabs her blade with her bare hands, fully stopping Rumia's attack, then says "your loss." then kicks Rumia's abdomen with her makeshift knee, spins in the air, and kicks her head downward with the back of her make-shift foot, then laughs as Rumia falls down to the lake.

However, something dark bats Rumia toward dry land, where she lies looking toward the night sky as her ribbon magically sets itself back on her head.

{END FLASHBACK}

Reimu continues to stare toward the two youkai, however she is lost in thought.

Rumia asks "want us to try again?"

Reimu abruptly says "no! It's up to me to solve this incident. Besides, I hear Kimi lives around there... I need to ask her something."

Rumia, sounding determined, says "I'll go with you, then."

Agava adds "I guess I'm in too."

Reimu smiles and says "good. We leave after lunch!"

Rika rushes to the kitchen in just seconds and says "on it! I'll make you some rice balls and some dumplings, and with your FAVORITE tea, my lady!"

Reimu smiles and says "ah, thank you. But I'm not that hungry, so could you make some soup instead?"

Crying, Rika salutes Reimu and with a forced smile on her face she says "ON IT!"

Meanwhile, Mima holds Maribel, who has her cat ears exposed as she sleeps on the supposedly evil spirit's lap.

Mima smiles with a heart in her mouth and says "nothing could ruin this moment for me!"

A cream-colored washtub falls right on top of her head, crumpling her pointy hat as small cat Maribels run in circles around her head.

With a wriggled smile she says "ooo~ pretty kitty" then falls on her back.

-

It's noon, and Reimu, Rumia and Agava arrive to the island in the Misty lake.

At first, the lake seems just fine, so Reimu asks "are you guys sure about this?"

Rumia nods and says "it's behind."

Reimu lifts to the air to get a better look, and is completely shocked when she sees half of the lake covered in scarlet.

When she looks back down, she notices Cirno and Daiyousei on the shores, looking quite unhappy and weak.

Reimu shouts "Rumia, Agava, take all the fairies you can find AWAY from the island!"

From the mansion's clock tower, Remilia comes flying straight to Reimu, looking a little sick.

Remilia looks to where Reimu is looking, and seemingly unsurprised, she says "I noticed that when Flan forced us to ride that new contraption of hers. What should we do?"

Reimu says "we investigate."

Reimu and Remilia dive toward the scarlet colored water when Kali gets in their way with a smile, and without waiting for another second, she switches to her shadow form, grabs a spell card from her white hair and shouts "Shadow Sign - Binding Darkness"

Reimu shouts to Remilia "hold on to me!" then pulls out her own spell card and shouts "Dream Sign - Demon Sealing Circle!"

Just after Reimu declares her spell card, Remilia desperately shouts "wait, what about me~!?"

The area around them turns completely dark, but Reimu's spell makes everything bright again as a blue beam rises toward the skies right from where Reimu and Remilia are, surprising Kali and knocking her out of the air.

Inside the the blue beam, Remilia trembles as the spell is unleashed, but quickly realizes she is safely surrounded by a barrier.

Reimu scoffs and asks "though I was going to let you burn?"

Angrily and with tears under her eyes, Remilia replies "don't scare me like that!"

Reimu simply smiles, and the second her spell finishes, Reimu dives toward the lake once more, whoever, Kali floats back up with her eyes glowing scarlet with rage.

She shouts "you think that was FUNNY don't cha'!?"

The shadow turns to human form, her eye still glowing scarlet, as she expands her arms, making the lake under her react and a scarlet colored watery pillar rises right behind her.

With a wicked smile on her face, she points her finger at Reimu and the pillar rushes straight to the maiden.

Reimu readies her charms, ready to protect herself, but Remilia grabs her left sleeve and pulls her away from the water, just as something dark grabs hold of Kali, canceling the water pillar, then drags her under the scarlet water.

Reimu struggles with Remilia, demanding "Remilia, let me GO!"

Remilia pulls Reimu closer to herself, then says "that looks VERY dangerous. I have a very bad feeling about that water, Reimu."

Reimu stares straight at the scarlet water, watching as the bubbles from where Kali disappeared under stop surfacing.

She thinks for a moment, then takes a deep breath and says "fine. I'll back away for now. Do me a favor."

Remilia lets go of Reimu's sleeve, and looking seriously at Reimu, she asks "what do you want?"

Reimu calmly says "if you see Kimi... Meiling's shadow, please tell her I need to speak with her. As for this lake... I better find more information about it."

Remilia asks "think there might be something in the Hieda records?"

Reimu shakes her head lightly and says "not exactly. I think there's something in the shrine's records."

Remilia stares back at Reimu, as the shrine maiden continues to stare toward the scarlet colored lake, then Reimu says "The Scarlet Lake... yeah. I need information about that."

-

By the clean shores of the Misty Lake, away from the island, Agava and Rumia take the last of the weakened fairies to shore, where they instantly feel better and start to fly on their own.

After they are done, Agava looks to Reimu, Remilia and Kali, then notices as something very large grabs Kali and drags her down.

She rubs her dark-blue eyes then says "whoa, Rumia did you see that?"

Rumia lies on her back on the ground and tired, she asks "i-is that so~?"

From Agava's left, Koishi says "ooh, I saw that large dark thing. It was dark!"

Agava gets shocked for a moment, but manages to recover, then says "so you saw it too? Sweet, let's tell Reimu!"

Koishi smiles while sticking out her tongue, then says "there's no need. She already knows~. She's just playing with us."

Agava narrows her right eye and says "you sure are weird."

Koishi squeals and says "you're so CUTE!" then hugs Agava tightly as pink hearts pop from her head.

Agava sighs and stares on in disbelief and says "yup... truly weird."

At the Moriya Shrine, Sanae, Budou, Ail on Budou's arms and Phredia land near the entrance to the shrine, then Sanae storms inside and immediately locks herself up in her room.

Budou lowers her wings and sighs as she says "mama Sanny is mad."

Suwako is the firs to approach them as Phredia pats Budou on the head, then asks "what happened?"

Budou says "miss Reimu turned back to human, but papa didn't."

Ail adds "I told her to take it easy, but that seems to have made her even madder."

Kanako comes from her room and after getting away from Sanae's room, she calmly says "it's probably that time, you know."

Suwako strikes Kanako on the head with her fist and says "yes. That time where miss gramma shuts up and fixes this problem!"

Kanako growls "or maybe it's time we had FROG LEGS for dinner!"

Kanako and Suwako both grab each other in a head-lock, then stop as they notice Budou is sobbing.

Ail, sounding a bit annoyed says "nice job." then turns to Budou and says "it's ok, Budou. Come on, cheer up. Chen's coming by to play tomorrow, but if you cry, she will get sad... so no more crying."

Budou sniffles and quietly nods as Phredia pats her head, then Ail jumps from Budou's arms and says "look, let's just find a way to cheer Sanae up. Any particular food she likes?"

Kanako suddenly stands straight and with an angry smile she says "I'll take care of that. You just wait for dinner."

Later that night, Kanako walks out of her room to the living room and finds Ail sleeping on the floor there, curled up into a ball and holding his own tail as he whines while lightly snoring.

Kanako quietly points her hand at him, then a light-blue orb comes from inside Ail's heart and straight back to Kanako's hand then expands and after the light dims, it reveals Kanako's real mirror.

She quickly looks into it, then thinks "hmm... not enough to make Sanae forget about him, but still... Maybe I can make this work."

She quietly heads back to her room, and after she closes the door, Ail mumbles in his sleep "miss Kanako... faith in you. Great... goddess Suwako... *whine* bones."

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Luna, Budou, Phredia, Petal, Kali and Kimi were created by Willie G.R.

Agava/Kali's spell cards were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

DEC 20 2009

written by

Willie G.R.


	24. Chapter 23 A Scarlet Shower 2

Morning at the Moriya Shrine.

Sanae wakes up a little later than usual in her white sleeping robes, finding Budou and Phredia already eating their breakfast.

With her mouth full, Budou excitedly says "mama! I made breakfast!"

Phredia flies in front of Budou's face, waving her finger reprehensively at her, then Budou gulps and says "sorry."

Sanae asks "where's Ail? Is he on lady Yasaka's lap again?"

Budou shakes her head and says "big sister and papa went swimming to the lake."

Sanae gasps and shouts "THE LAKE!? He could drown!"

Sanae runs outside, skidding as she takes a sharp turn and heads toward the lake.

In her head, memories of Ail rush through, even memories in his dog form.

A tear escapes her right eye and says "I'll save you Ail! I'll save you!"

When she reaches the lake, she desperately jumps into the water, shouting "I'LL SAVE YOU~!"

She jumps over Suwako and continues flying over the human Ail and she dives into the water, looking all over the water for dog Ail.

After 2 minutes of searching, Sanae surfaces, sobbing and shouting "no~! He's dea~d! Ail~!"

From behind her, Suwako asks "Sanae, what are you doing?"

Sanae shouts "you killed Ail~! Why~?"

Suwako asks "eeeh? What are you TALKING about?"

Ail says "I'm right here!"

Sanae turns around and sees Ail is human again, wearing deep-blue swim shorts, and Suwako wearing a one-piece purple swimsuit with a big frog face design.

Sanae gasps with excitement and jumps straight at him, reaching the shore AND Ail in just one jump and hugs him tight by the neck, shouting "AIL~! You're alive!!! AND you're human again!"

Ail laughs as he hugs Sanae back, then says "I'm sorry for scaring you. Seems I turned back to normal during the night."

Sanae continues to hug him tightly around the neck for a little longer, then lets him go and looks into his eyes as she says "I'm sorry about yesterday. It was just so unfair, and-and…"

Ail smiles and says "calm down, it's alright. Everything is alright now."

Sanae finally lets go of Ail, then Suwako forces her hat on Ail's head, all the way down to his face, then shouts "SANAE! Have some decency! It's almost transparent!"

Sanae realizes what Suwako says, then dunks herself into the water, leaving her blushing head outside of it and shouting "oops! Tha-that's my mistake there! Heh heh!"

Suwako hands Sanae a towel, just as Ail manages to pull off Pyonta, Suwako's hats.

Sanae runs back to the shrine, wrapped in the white towel, while Suwako takes back her hat from Ail and says "you pervert, tell me what you saw!"

Ail shivers in place, his face blue and his eyes full of tears as he says "my old math teacher *sob*!"

Suwako opens her eyes wide and looks inside her hat, then says "oops... had Pyonta-kun set on traumatic memories... err, sorry about that."

Ail walks out of the water, still sobbing and trembling, then cries "I want my mommy~!"

-

At Alice's house in the Forest of Magic, Shanghai and Hourai finish preparing a good breakfast for Alice.

Shanghai says "orange juice goes on the left, Hourai."

Hourai replies "but what if she wants to use her RIGHT hand this time?"

From behind, Alice says "well, good morning you two. Oh my, is all of this for me?"

Hourai and Shanghai both fly straight toward Alice with smiles on their little faces, then Shanghai says "we are good to mommy Alice!"

Shanghai's eyes hide under her hair as she blushes so much, her little head seems as though it's about to burst.

Alice looks surprised and places her hand on her chest as she asks "wha-what did you call me?"

Shanghai flies to the table and kneels down on it, placing her hands in front of herself and supporting her body with her arms and knees, looking a little sad as her long hair drops around her head.

She trembles a bit more when Hourai says "*gasp* Shanghai, you didn't!"

Shanghai stutters as she says "s-s-sorry m-m-miss A-Alice. I-it won't happen again!"

Alice gently pats the little doll's head, making her raise her sight and see Alice with a motherly smile and some tears in her face.

At first, Shanghai thinks she did something bad to Alice, but her fears immediately subside when Alice says "thank you."

Both dolls looks very surprised toward Alice, who continues "I'm so glad, you see me like a mother to you. That makes me very happy."

Like magic, Shanghai's feelings switch from uncertainty to happiness.

She flies toward Alice and pulls out a white napkin the same size as her from under her skirt, then wipes Alice's tears off.

Before she manages to hide the napkin again, Alice grabs both dolls and holds them against her chest, then says "please, continue to think of me as you mother. Nothing would make me happier."

Shanghai smiles and hugs Alice back, saying "I'm so glad... You really are like a mom to us. Right Hourai?"

Hourai hugs Alice tightly, and looking very happy, she says "*sigh* Mama's so soft and warm."

Both Alice and Shanghai, with a large sweat-drop falling from the back of their heads, stare at Hourai as she continues to hug Alice and rub her face against Alice's chest so contently.

Promptly after eating breakfast, Alice, Shanghai and Hourai head toward the door as Alice says "alright, girls. Let's go get some more materials. I'm starting to run low on strings."

The moment she opens the door to head outside, she notices Shinki just about to knock on it with a smile on her face.

Alice and the dolls blink a few times before Shinki says "Alice, sweetie, how are you? I came to see how you are doing!"

Alice says "mom, hi. What a pleasant surprise."

In the sky, Yuki flies by as fast as she can, crying "why are you still chasing me!?"

A few snowflake bullets pass by, then Mai comes soon after, shouting "come back here and let me BLAST YOU!"

After both Shinki and Alice finish staring dumbfounded at the two passing-by girls, Hourai flies in front of Shinki's face and stares at her for a while.

Confused, Shinki points at Hourai, then the little doll says "you are mommy's mommy, so that makes you GRAMMA~!"

Hourai hugs Shiki's face as Shinki giggles nervously and says "oh my. What just happened here?"

Alice and Shanghai shrug, unable to come up with an explanation, then Shinki grabs the little doll with a smile and says "well of course I'm your gramma! Oh my, I must be the youngest looking gramma around here."

At Mayohiga, Yukari suddenly sneezes, waking up from her sleep.

She looks around her room with tired eyes, then mumbles "such a nice dream" then goes back to sleep.

-

Flying above the Forest of Magic, Elly says "come on, Kurumi. Those fiends went THIS way!"

Kurumi looks annoyed as she replies "we'd have them already if you hadn't messed with that mouse."

Sweating and smiling sheepishly, Elly replies "oh come on! Anyone can make mistakes."

As they pass just above Alice's house, Elly hears Shinki says "Alice, make sure the door is locked."

Elly exclaims "Ail!?"

Alice replies to Shinki "mom, please. I can take care of myself."

Elly shouts "AIL~!" getting Alice, Shinki and the doll's attention.

As she heads toward them, Kurumi face palms and says "here we go again!"

Elly lands right in front of Alice and next to Shinki, then with fire in her eyes, she points at Alice and says "I have found you, AIL! My name is Elly, and you are going to die by MY HAND!"

Elly raises her scythe, ready to strike down Alice, who simply continues to stare back at the youkai quite calmly.

Elly furiously swings her scythe and strikes down hard, only to realize she's not holding the scythe in her hands.

She desperately looks around, then notices Shinki is holding it, looking quite angry.

Shinki says "I don't know what's your problem, but anyone that threatens my Alice, OR Ail will face severe consequences!"

Completely ignoring Shinki, who angrily shouts "HEY! Are you even listening!?", Elly inspects Alice.

She gasps as she holds her head and says "wh-wh-what is this!? Cute, blonde, blue eyes, cute clothes AND she's SEXY~!"

Alice blushes and angrily says "he-hey! What are you talk-"

Elly starts to cry and shouts "I can't compete with this~!"

Kurumi shouts "Elly, stop it already! Please, everyone, we're sorry. I'll be taking-"

Elly suddenly grabs her scythe from Shinki and points at Alice as she says "if I can't compete with you, I'll take you out of the competition."

Elly's cheeks turn pink as she looks up to the sky with sparkly eyes, placing her left hand on her left cheek and says "then, miss Yukarin will only have eyes for me!"

Alice, in a very dangerous undertone, says "this girl is getting on my nerves."

Shinki and Kurumi walk toward Elly to grab her, but Elly makes a very sudden swing with her scythe and points it at Alice.

She startles both Kurumi and Shinki, who trips and falls on her back on the ground.

Alice looks toward Shinki, shouting "MOM!"

Shinki gets back up, saying "owie. Rocks hurt."

Alice gives Elly a very dark look along with Shanghai and Hourai, both having their tiny eyes glow red as they stare.

The youkai lowers her scythe, and concerned, she asks "err, did I make you mad?"

Alice holds a spell card and in a dark and dangerous undertone she says "Curse Sign - Hourai Doll"

Hourai and Shanghai fly by Alice's left and right, then both dolls unleash three thick purple lasers just as Alice points her hand toward the youkai.

Elly smiles horrorstruck as the lasers get closer to her, then shouts "shit! Not aga~in!"

After the spell finishes, Alice looks at Kurumi, who is holding her head as she ducks on the ground while trembling and whimpering.

Angry, Alice says "take your friend and LEAVE, before I give you some of the same!"

Kurumi shrieks as she springs off the ground and says "r-right away, madam!"

Kurumi finds Elly full of cuts and burns, lodged on a tree with her eyes spinning in place as she dizzily says "you win this round Ai-Alice."

Kurumi grabs Elly by her feet, pulls her out of the tree, then angrily says "you idiot, you almost got us BOTH killed!" then flies away, holding Elly by her feet, letting her dangle in the air.

As this happens, Alice heads toward Shinki and checks on her thoroughly, Shinki smiling and saying "I'm fine, my child. I'm fine."

-

Meanwhile, at the Hakurei Shrine, Rika prepares a meal, while Renko and Maribel sweep the shrine grounds and Mima watches them while lazily floating in mid-air.

Aya is on the shrine's roof, holding on to her paper delivery bag as she listens to Mystia sing a song.

Reimu sits on the shrine's living room surrounded by small notepads, scrolls and books, all with records on the Scarlet Lake.

Rika approaches Reimu and offers her mistress a cup of tea, saying "my lady, here's some tea. Breakfast will be ready soon."

Reimu replies "Remilia's intuitions were right on. If that red water had touched me, I'd be in trouble."

Puzzled, Rika asks "my lady, is everything alright?"

Reimu looks up to Rika with a serious face and says "Rika, do me a favor and bring my breakfast over here. I need to research some more."

Rika looks concerned, but simply bows and says "as you wish, my lady."

Rika turns around, but before she leaves Reimu says "oh, and could you do something about that noisy bird? It's hard to concentrate with all that noise."

Rika thinks "aww~ And she was singing so beautifully too" but says "right away my lady."

Mystia continues her song "Deaf to All But The Song", making Aya smile widely.

Mima is also listening to the song, looking very entertained.

Rika flies to the roof and loudly says "please, my lady needs silence, as she is researching some VERY important matter. Please take your singing elsewhere, miss Lorelei."

Mima complains "hey~, I was having fun here. Go tell miss Reimu to research somewhere else."

Rika's smile turns dark as she stares straight at Mima, then says "miss Mima, would you be so kind as to come over here for a minute?"

Mima floats next to Rika, looking casual and asking "yeah, what is it?"

Rika grabs Mima's shoulder with one hand, then her wrist with her other hand, then bends the spirit's arm all the way to her back, then lifts her forearm all the way up to the back of her neck.

Mima screams in pain, shouting "ok, ok, I give! UNCLE! AAAH!"

Rika wraps her arms around Mima's neck, then bends her backward as far as possible, and as Mima screams in pain, and in a dangerous undertone, Rika says "the mistress' word is law. Fail to comply and pain will be promptly served."

Mima's eyes fill with tears as Rika wraps her legs around the spirit's waist, then grabs both her arms and pulls them back as hard as she can, making many unsettling cracking sounds that scare both Aya and Mystia right out of their skirts as they fly away as fast as they can.

Mima screams "ACK! Ok! I GIVE!"

Rika's natural angelic smile returns to her face as she lets Mima fall to the ground and says "glad you understand."

Rika floats back down, dusting her hands as she happily lands and heads straight to the kitchen to finish breakfast.

Outside on the ground, Mima's eyes look round and white over a blue shadow, and as her body twitches, she scratches the letters "Rik-" on the stone tiles, but is unable to finish before finally collapsing.

Maribel and Renko hold each other tight, trembling and whimpering as the words "BAD END" write themselves in gold, just above Mima's body.

-

At Entei, one of Ail's gaps opens up just in front of the gates, and as he passes through, he complains "but I don't see why we have to come here? I'm cured. And what about Budou and Chen?"

Sanae walks through the gap just before it closes, then angrily says "I want to make sure you are fully recovered. Besides, Ran is taking GOOD care of the girls."

Ail sighs and slumps as he walks toward the clinic with Sanae right behind him, smiling quite contently.

Before they can knock on the door, Eirin peeks her head from the mansion's living room and says "oh, mister Ail, miss Sanae. Udonge and I will be over in a minute. Please what a little bit."

Ail replies "don't mind us. Take all~ the time you want."

Sanae pokes Ail's rib with her elbow, and while still smiling she says "you're not getting away."

Both are startled when from behind Kaguya says "well, what do we have here? The couple are back to Entei, yet everything seems to be in place, and no set of tails, ears or fur."

Ail gets shocked and can't reply to Kaguya, but Sanae places her hand on her chest and after taking a small breath she says "oh, miss Kaguya. We're here to make sure there's no side-effects on him."

Kaguya smiles and says "oh, how nice."

Sanae turns around again, clinging to Ail's arm, and Kaguya's smile turns to a mischievous stare, and with jagged teeth, she thinks "I think I'll tease this fool for a bit."

Kaguya walks closer to Ail and says "mister Ail, could you get me a glass of water?"

Ail replies "oh, sure."

Kaguya continues "do it in 5 sec-"

Before she finishes her sentence, Ail hands her a glass of water, saying "here you go."

Kaguya is completely awestruck.

She drinks the water while thinking "what? Idiot's trying to make me look bad!"

She throws the empty glass away, then says "still thirsty. Get me another glass in 4 sec-"

Ail hands the glass, which Kaguya angrily accepts, then says "I meant 3 sec-"

Ail hands yet another glass of water, now looking a bit annoyed.

Kaguya drinks it and shouts "in one second!"

Ail already has the glass in front of her, which she angrily drinks, then she rapidly shouts "BEFORE I THINK-" and another glass already in her hands.

Annoyed, Ail asks "is that ENOUGH?"

Kaguya drops the last glass of water as she thinks "he... he completed my impossible requests! Ho-how can this be? Oh no, what have I DONE? Now I have to marry this idiot!"

She takes a good look at him and sees a light shining from behind him, then more calm, she thinks "this shouldn't be too bad."

She grabs and clings on Ail's right arm, annoying him to no ends.

Trying to keep his cool, Ail trembles, holding back his rage and disgust as he asks "what do you think you are doing, princess?"

Kaguya bluntly replies "you and me are going to get married immediately!"

Fire lights up all around Sanae, while Ail turns as white as a ghost.

Sanae pulls hard on Ail's left arm, freeing him from Kaguya's grasp, then shouts "what the HELL is wrong with you? You can't just marry someone just because you command it!"

Kaguya stares a bit annoyed toward Sanae, then says "he completed all 5 impossible request. He HAS to marry me. His success has bounded us for eternity."

Sanae turns to face Ail as he asks "impossible requests? I didn't do such thi-"

Kaguya interrupts him and says "hey, you got the glass of water in my hand long before I stopped talking back there. You didn't even let me think about it."

Again, Ail turns as white as a ghost as Sanae stares at him enraged, with steam blowing from her ears and nose.

From behind him, Eirin, also looking slightly annoyed, says "so you got ANOTHER one of my girls falling head-over-heels for you? *Sigh* Well, I'll tell you now, you're NOT my type."

Ail desperately grabs Eirin by her shoulders and shakes her violently, shouting "ARE YOU TRYING TO PISS ME OFF!? Be-besides, she's NOT in love... NONE of you are!"

Eirin points at Kaguya, who's already clinging on his arm again, rubbing her cheek on his shoulder.

Sanae growls "Ail, you have some explaining to do!"

Again, Ail turns pale as Eirin says "well it just so happens Udonge's shadow blabbed something about wanting to marry you. Something about being kind to my Udonge. Which means there's a little flame in her heart for you."

Sanae shouts "WHAT!? Ail, what's the meaning of this!?"

Ail trembles as Sanae slowly gets closer to him, and ask "why are you angry at me!? Besides, they MUST be joking. Yeah, you guys are just joking... right!?"

-

Sanae makes an enraged grab for Ail, but he manages to jump up just in time and while hovering high in the air, he angrily asks "Sanae, what's the matter!?"

Sanae glares straight at him, making Ail feel a cold chill run through his spine.

He says to himself "now why is she so angry? Ugh, that princess. Asking me to marry her, and then Eirin with that joke. Oh... maybe that's what has Sanae so angry. These aren't her kind of jokes."

Clinging on his back and gently rubbing his chest with her hands, in a teasing tone of voice, Kaguya says "my, you are dense, aren't you? When we're married, we'll have to work on that."

Ail panics and shouts "how the heck did you get back there!!?"

Sanae flies up, looking even more angry and quickly reaches Ail and Kaguya.

Without saying another word she pulls out her gohei and strikes hard, Aiming for Ail's head, but Ail manages to duck and fly away quickly enough, letting Kaguya take the hit.

From below, Eirin shouts "HEY!" and shoots various arrows at Ail, who dodges them and ends up looking hieroglyphically.

Eirin finishes shouting "take better care of your wife! And she's a princess, so I expect you be twice as nice to her!"

Ail shouts back "Eirin, stop this joke already!!!"

Sanae hovers right behind him, holding a pink charm on her left hand and her gohei on her right.

Ail feels the steam from her nose on his neck, then opens and enters a gap just as Sanae tries to place the charm on him.

When she realizes she missed him, she shouts "Ail, come BACK here and TAKE IT like a man!"

Ail's gap opens inside Reisen's room, where he thinks he's safe, however, Reisen starts to scream "kyaaah! There's a man in my room!"

Ail looks behind him and finds Reisen hiding behind her bed.

He panics and stutters "w-w-wa-wait! It's not what you think!" but Reisen uses her lunatic eyes on him, then blasts him all the way outside the room, where Kaguya is waiting for him.

She grabs him by the arms and drags him down the hall, happily saying "come on, let's have some fun before the wedding."

Ail asks "fun? You mean like ga- WAIT A MINUTE! There's going to be NO wedding, because I am NOT going to marry you!"

Kaguya smiles and says "it's too late. You already performed the first part of the ritual, now all we have to do is finish it."

Sanae beaks through a wall, startling both Ail and Kaguya, and with red eyes, jagged teeth and breathing fire, she shouts "Ail, I'm going to KILL YOU!"

Ail says "Kaguya, look! It's Ail!!"

Kaguya lets go of Ail and looks around, saying "Ail? Where!?"

Ail jumps to his feet and runs outside the Entei Mansion, with Sanae stomping furiously behind him; each stomp causing a small tremor in the house.

Ail reaches the outside and rushes straight toward the gates of Entei, saying "if I can get far enough from here, I can manage a gap to reach miss Kanako! She knows how to calm Sanae down"

He's just one step away from reaching freedom, when the ground under him collapses, making him yelp out pathetically as he falls down one of Tewi's pitfalls.

-

Ail coughs and spits out some dirt as he looks up toward the top of the hole, when Tewi looks down and angrily says "hey you jerk! That was for the Udonge! Get your own holes!"

Ail jumps out of the hole, grabs Tewi by her shoulders, and shakes the black rabbit while desperately saying "Tewi, you GOTTA HELP ME!"

Tewi manages to free herself from Ail and a bit annoyed, she asks "what's the matter with YOU?"

Ail desperately says "well, Kaguya wants to marry me, Eirin says Reisen wants to marry me, and Sanae wants to KILL me for some reason! What should I DO!?"

Tewi smirks and says "I don't know about you, but I'm gonna watch all of this while drinking some of my nice brand of tea."

She grabs a mug of beer from under her skirt and flies up to the roof, casually saying "don't die too soon."

Ail whimpers as Sanae comes out of the mansion, shouting "Ail, get BACK HERE!"

Ail tries to fly away, but he quickly realizes Kaguya is clinging on to his legs, making it impossible for him to get away.

Kaguya shouts "wait, STOP! Why don't you want to MARRY me? I'm pretty~!"

Ail pushes Kaguya from his legs while shouting "I DON'T like you like that! Besides, don't you know about soul mates!?"

Ail manages to release himself, then flies away as Kaguya shouts "you won't FIND her if you continue being so THICK-headed!"

Just as Ail reaches a high enough altitude, Sanae's gohei flies fast and strikes him hard on the back of his head, knocking him out to the ground head-first, but long before crashing Sanae grabs him by his shirt.

She pulls him closer to her face, blowing steam from her nose and ears, while staring with fiery eyes.

Ail nervously asks "Sa-Sanae? Wh-what's the matter? Why are you so m-mad?"

Sanae smiles with jagged teeth as she raises her gohei, which miraculously appears on her right hand, and quickly swings to strike the whimpering Ail on the forehead, but Eirin shoots an arrow that breaks Ail's shirt, freeing him from Sanae's grasps, then shouts "come down, wind priestess. Let's talk!"

The lunarian grabs the collapsed Ail on the ground by his feet, then slowly pulls him back to her clinic.

Sanae blows a cloud puff from her mouth, but calms down and follows Eirin, but not before generating a small whirlwind that lifts Kaguya's skirt, making the princess stop and fight against her own skirt, keeping it from showing her underwear.

Once inside the clinic, Eirin sits Ail behind her, then says "alright, listen carefully to what I say. Sanae, this idiot is too dense to even know what's going on."

On the background, Ail says "hey, I can hear you" but Eirin ignores him and continues.

"Yes, Udonge seems to like him, but I don't believe it's to that point, but even if she did... Well, you get the idea."

Sanae sighs and says "I... guess you're right."

From the background Ail asks "what are you guys talking about? What's going on?"

Eirin turns to Kaguya and says "princess, I want you to think hard about this. If you think about it, Ail has failed you final impossible request."

Kaguya thinks for a moment, then gasps and covers her mouth with her sleeves as she says "oh my, you are so right. I asked him to marry me immediately, but all he did was run away."

She smirks as she lowers her sleeves and points at Ail with her left hand and says "you FAIL, just like all the others! HA! I KNEW you couldn't do it. Humans are so stupid." then walks away from the clinic.

Again, Ail looks dumbfounded, black question marks popping all around his head.

Eirin looks at Sanae as the priestess places her hand on her chest and breathes deeply.

Eirin asks "you really like him that much?"

Sanae blushes and looks away while saying "err, umm- So-sorry for all the trouble. I don't know what got into me."

Eirin smiles and says "it's alright. Now, why exactly did you come here for?"

Sanae raises her head and says "Oh, that's right! I wanted you to make sure there's no side effects to the dog drug."

Sanae looks to Ail and smiles with a quick giggle, then Eirin looks at him and says "I see."

Ail stares back even more confused, then asks himself "first she wants to murder me, now she smiles at me. What's going ON!?"

-

At the scarlet depths of the Misty Lake, Kimi and Kali, both in their human forms, have a small conversation while inside an energy bubble.

Inside the bubble, Kali kneels on one knee, while staring back toward Kimi, who has her arms crossed over her chest and stands tall staring angrily toward Kali.

Kimi asks "but wouldn't it be easier to just get rid of the maiden?"

Kimi swings both arms in a cross and shouts "NO!"

She grabs Kali by her neck and snarls, then says "you do NOT kill the maiden, or any of her friends!"

Kali manages to hide her fear as she says "well you do know that as long as they are alive, you cannot restore this lake to what it used to be!"

Kimi lets Kali drop as she looks away around the lake and says "we can. We just need to speed things up. As long as I keep channeling my powers to you, it should present no problem, however...!!!"

Kimi paces for a bit while keeping her eyes on Kali, then continues "if you try to kill the maiden, or one of her friends again, I will swallow you whole. Did I make myself clear!?"

Kali winces as Kimi finishes her sentence with a dangerous roar, and while trying her best to keep away from Kimi and using her arm to feel a little more safe, she says "y-y-yes. N-n-no one will die."

Calmly, Kimi says "good" then looks toward the surface.

Something gets her attention, but she keeps quiet and just stares.

Kali takes a deep breath just as Kimi growls "dammit" and turns into a dragon, bursting the protective bubble they were just in.

On the surface to the lake, a very stubborn ice fairy says "red water isn't so scary. I'm the strongest ever. This should be nothing to me."

Daiyousei gabs Cirno's arm and says "Cirno-chan, please! I have a very bad feeling about this. It's dangerous! Don't go!"

Cirno points at herself with her thumb, looking confident as she says "hah! I am the strongest. Not even this icky red water can-"

Cirno hovers just above the red water, and immediately feels all her strength fail her.

Daiyousei tries to grab her friend, but she quickly succumbs to the lake's effect as well and falls toward the water, but before either fairy touches the water, a colossal black blur rises from the underneath and takes the two fairies away.

Both Cirno and Daiyousei lie unconscious on Kimi's snake-like back as the dragon says "you two fairies must be stupid or something, geez! I can't have you dying here yet, or that maiden might come and check. Hmm... There's a nice spot for two idiots like yourselves."

Kimi flies past the island in the lake, reaching the farther shores, then turns around, flying upside-down, letting the two fairies fall on a tree, managing to drop them so well, they land as if they were sleeping on the branches.

Cirno even accommodates her hands and places them on her abdomen, then quietly snores.

Daiyousei falls as though sleeping sideways on a comfortable bed, using both hands as a pillow, a little farther from Cirno.

Kimi smirks and says "if I had planned that, it wouldn't have worked."

-

Night falls, and at the Hakurei Shrine, a party is being held to celebrate the return of Reimu and Ail to their human forms.

Kyo and Luna stand under some trees to the right of the shrine, talking to Aya and Momiji, laughing and enjoying themselves.

On the back, Medicine sits next to Ran and Shinki as they watch over Budou, Phredia and Chen as they play danmaku with Suwako and fly all over the shrine.

Ran smiles at Medicine and asks "don't you want to join them?"

Medicine blushes and looks away as she pouts and says "I-I don't play kid's games. I'm a grownup!"

Ran smiles and playfully says "oh, I see."

Marisa, Mima, Suika, Renko and Kanako sit in a circle next to the living room's table, all with cups and plates filled with sake, all of them laughing and having a very loud conversation.

Close by are Reimu, Ail, Sanae, Alice, Shanghai, Hourai, Maribel with her magical cat ears exposed and Rika, all enjoying tea instead of sake, though it's only a matter of time before Reimu switches drinks.

Everyone continue to enjoy themselves until Kyo spots Yuka and Ayalina walking up the shrine's stairs and exclaims "Yuka? Miss Ayalina!?"

Luna and Aya both ask "Ail's mother?" as Yuka raises her closed parasol, waving it in a friendly way toward Kyo, Luna and the tengu.

Ayalina smiles and lightly bows, then says "well Kyo, what a surprise to find you here! Where's Ail?"

By now, many curious faces quietly look straight toward the two flower youkai as they continue smile and wave, and head toward the shrine.

Once in view from inside, Ail exclaims "mom? Miss Yuka?"

Reimu says "well, this is a surprise."

Sanae says "oh my, miss Ayalina and the flower youkai. Welcome."

Yuka smiles at Sanae and says "it's Yuka. Yuka Kazami! Honestly, learn my name."

Alice, Shanghai and Hourai stare outside, then Alice asks "wow, are you sure she's your mom? She looks way too young!"

Shanghai nods as Ail sweats and whispers "you're gonna be sorry you said that."

Ayalina blushes and laughs, then says "my, what a smart and well-behaved young lady you are!"

She rushes to Alice and wraps her arm around Alice's neck and says "come, sit next to me!"

Sanae asks "so, to what do we owe the honor of your visit?"

Ayalina says "after I heard of the accident..."

Ayalina stares daggers toward Kanako, who hides her eyes under a dark-blue shadow and hides her mouth with her sake plate.

Ayalina continues "...I wanted to come and visit, but I just couldn't. I was so glad to hear miss Reimu and my son returned to normal."

Marisa turns her head toward Ayalina and bluntly asks "wait a minute! How do you even know all this?"

Rika and Maribel looks curiously at Ayalina, who answers with a smirk "the flowers tell me all, miss magician."

By now, Yuka sits beside Reimu and says "they say he looked cute like a dog. Last time he did look cuter. Maybe he should stay a dog."

Ayalina smirks again, then pulls out a thick brown book and says "you won't say that after you've seen these!"

Ail sweats as his eyes hide under a blue shadow, then asks "th-those wouldn't be... my..?"

Ayalina turns to Ail with a big, evil smirk and says "your baby pictures."

Ail's mouth opens wide as he sweats and turns as pale as a sheet of paper.

Budou enters the shrine alongside Chen and Suwako, then looks at Ayalina and asks "papa, is this your mama?"

Still in shock, Ail manages to nod, then Budou politely bows after Ayalina walks to her.

Ayalina excitedly asks "are you Budou?"

Budou blushes as she nods, then looks away.

Ayalina grabs her and gives her a hug and shouts "what a perfectly ADORABLE little girl!" then grabs Chen with her other arm and while hugging both, she says "oh my, and your friend is just so perfectly ADORABLE TOO!!!"

While this happens, Rika can't help but stare at her mistress and Yuka.

Reimu gets a bit annoyed and asks "what is it!?"

Rika bows and says "my apologies, my lady, but you two look so much alike!"

Yuka and Reimu blush at the same time, turn their faces away from each other, then say at the same time "I don't look like her at ALL!"

-

Ayalina is surrounded by the girls as they all look through Ail's baby pictures.

Ail is lying on the ground, trying his best to hide under his own arms, hoping to be swallowed by the ground at any time.

Ayalina points at one picture of young Ail looking infinitely angry toward the camera while in a bunny suit, then says "oh~ and this is his 4th Halloween. I made him wear the cutest little disguise."

Mima grins while facing Ail and says "well now, how would you look like in a bunny suit now?"

Ail opens his eyes wide while shouting "don't you DARE!!!"

After that, Ayalina points at another photo of young Ail wearing his father's clothes, which were way too big for him, and even though the shirt was short-sleeved, it still covered most of his little arms.

Sanae stares at this picture and says "aww~ he looks so cute~! I wonder what happened?"

Ail hides in a corner, hugging his knees and with a dark aura surrounding him as he mumbles incoherently.

Reimu exclaims "a-HA! I knew it. A naked butt picture!"

Ayalina looks stranged toward Reimu and says "well, doesn't every mother have one?"

Reimu giggles and says "possibly."

Aya starts taking pictures of the album, making Ail snap and shout "alright, ALRIGHT, that's it! I want retribution! Reimu, where are YOUR baby pictures?"

Reimu chuckles and says "I don't have any."

Ail rushes to Aya and says "you! You have her baby pictures, don't you?"

Aya looks away and says "ayaya~ I did, but since they weren't news, I threw them all away."

Ail whines for a moment, then says "but wait a minute, wouldn't someone pick those up?"

Reimu says "if they did, it would probably be some heretic or something."

At the hidden laboratory, Rikako sneezes on an important-looking piece of paper.

S-Kyo casually says "cold medicine's in lab 6-B."

Rikako's skin crawls as she sniffles, then says "I don't know why, but I THINK someone is talking about me."

S-Kyo quietly arranges his small round glasses, then ignores Rikako and continues looking through a small microscope.

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, Ayalina shows the very last picture of young Ail, eating rice with chop-sticks for the first time and making a mess, then says "oh, when I offered him a spoon he says to me 'mom, I'm a big boy now.' I was so proud of him."

Alice smiles and says "what a messy boy he is."

Ayalina smiles at Alice and says "yeah, he's quite messy."

Sanae adds in secret "and a bit dense."

Ayalina stares dangerously at Sanae for a moment, then sighs and says "I guess you're right."

Outside, in the shrine's storage house, Rika enters and finds Ail rummaging through everything.

Curious, she asks "what are you doing?"

Ail furiously continues looking around without looking behind him as he says "I'm looking for ANYTHING to get back at Reimu. Baby pictures, a badly made gohei, a kiddy charm... anything."

Rika smiles dangerously at Ail as she asks "why not do that to someone else. Alice? Sanae? Mima?"

Ail casually replies "Alice's dolls already gave me the eye, Sanae says miss Kanako has HER baby pictures, but she's too drunk right now, and Mima... Well, she's already a mess, and her past is a mystery, even to herself."

Rika continues to smile dangerously and says "well, maybe you should consider Marisa."

Ail replies "she didn't make much fun of me back there... in fact, she seems distracted. But why not Rei-"

Ail finally turns around and sees Rika staring at him with a murderous smile.

His face turns blue and he starts to sweat as he says "you're so going to kill me now."

Rika quietly nods with a smile on her face as she reaches for him.

Kyo and Luna are having a small chat with Suwako when they hear a loud scream and see Ail flying in the night sky, looking like a tossed rag-doll, full of cuts and bruises and shouting "he~lp me~~!!!"

Kyo laughs and says "now there's someone who knows how to party!"

-

Rika returns to the shrine and is caught by the drunk Marisa and Mima, each holding Rika by an arm.

Marisa says "come on, little miss maid! Even that stock-up maid of Remilia's knows how to party, ze."

Rika asks "but aren't I partying now?"

Mima mischievously says "well now, if you think you're having fun now, wait 'till you try THIS!"

Mima presents a tiny cup filled with sake to Rika.

Innocently, Rika grabs the cup and sniffs the liquid, then asks "is this sake?"

Mima and Marisa both nod and flip their thumbs up.

Rika tries to return to tiny cup, saying "err, no thanks. I think I better not."

Mima and Marisa both look disappointed at Rika, then Marisa says "so you bluntly refuse our gracious offer like that?"

Mima adds "that's very... umm... rude. Very rude of you."

Rika sweats and says "no... I guess you're right. I am being a little rude. Oh well..."

Rika raises the cup above her head and says "...bottoms up!"

Rika quickly drinks the sake while Mima and Marisa stare at her with mischievous smiles and unable to keep their right eyes fully open.

Rika finishes drinking the contents of her cup and smiles while staring back at Mima and Marisa.

She stands still for a moment, then Marisa waves her hand in front of the maid's eyes and asks "oy, Rika? Are you ok?"

Rika's face progressively turns red, then something in her head explodes, making Mima and Marisa wince.

Mima recovers and stares at the smiling Rika and asks "Rika... can you hear me?"

Rika replies "miss Mima... miss.. *giggle* Marisa... You... are ladies, and sho-should behave as su-such."

Rika is unable to keep steady as she stands there with her left eye slightly open, then a heart pops from her head as she says "I am such a good maid, I a~lways do what my lady says to me. Ahh, my lady!"

As she says this, she blushes and places both hands clapped together against her right cheek.

Mima and Marisa looks at each other, and with mischievous smiles on their faces, they place a hand on their mouths as they try to suppress their laughter.

Meanwhile, at the shrine's front, next to the hot spring's entrance, Reimu and Ayalina are having a conversation while Kyo stands under a tree close by.

Reimu asks "so, aren't you going to tell me how you've been coming in and out of Gensokyo, even with the barrier in place?"

Ayalina giggles and says "so you see more than you let on, miss maiden. I'm quite impressed."

Reimu lets out a half-smile and continues to stare at Ayalina, who says "I'm afraid that's my own little secret, and it's a secret that will probably die with me, though... it's best that way."

Reimu continues to smile at Ayalina, then says "I guess you're right."

Ayalina smiles back, then says "I wish to speak to miss Yuka before I leave again, so, if you'll excuse me."

Reimu and Ayalina lightly bow to each other, then part ways.

Reimu approaches Kyo and asks "hey, Kyo, can I ask you something?"

Kyo quietly nods, looking curiously at Reimu.

She gets a bit closer and asks "what are your thoughts about Ail and Sanae?"

Kyo laughs hard for a moment, then stops, looks seriously at Reimu, then says "he's quite dense."

Reimu laughs and says "so we agree on something! Think there's any way to help him understand?"

Kyo lightly shakes his head and says "the way I see it, it's only a matter of time before he figures it out, but it might just be too late by the time he realizes it."

Reimu asks "think you can help, cupid?"

Kyo glares at Reimu, then says "you leave that to me."

Reimu chuckles, then ask "and what about Maribel and Renko's house? You ARE working on that, right?"

Kyo growls and says "I am! I'm not as lazy as a certain maiden I know."

Reimu smirks wickedly at Kyo and asks "are you sure you want to be saying that?"

Kyo shouts "you wanna go at it? I'll kick your butt, red and white!"

Reimu smiles even more wickedly and says "oh, you're going to regret saying that."

Reimu lets her cup fall on the ground, letting is shatter in pieces, then starts sobbing and cries out loud "you mean, ugly man, how could you SAY such a thing to a lady as DELICATE as me~!"

Kyo panics and says "I-I... I'm NOT falling for that, you FAKER!"

Beside Kyo, the drunk Rika stands staring at him with a dark shadow over her eyes as she says, in a very dangerous undertone "you made my lady cry. Die, swine!"

-

At Eirin's clinic, Ail lies on one bed with curtains surrounding him. He has bandages around his head, legs and left arm.

He hears Eirin and Reisen handle an emergency, Eirin shouting "no, NO, that arm goes HERE!"

Reisen replies "sorry Master!"

Eirin shouts "ok, ok, this is going to HURT!"

Ail hears a loud cracking sound, then Kyo's voice echoing as he screams in pain.

Ail asks "Kyo?"

Eirin shouts "Ail, not now! This is SERIOUS!"

Ail looks at the ceiling and thinks "whoa... what could have happened?"

After some time passes and everything quiets down, Eirin says "phew, that was tough, but we solved that puzzle."

Reisen says "all in a day's work, eh Master?"

The door to the clinic shuts close, then Ail quickly opens the right side of the curtains, then sees Kyo bandaged from head to toes, with a hole for his left eye and his mouth in order to eat.

Ail asks "WHOA!! Kyo, you too?"

Kyo turns his good eye to Ail and manages to say "it's worse dude... MUCH worse."

Ail gulps and shivers, thinking what could have happened to mess Kyo up so badly.

Early morning.

At the Hakurei Shrine, Mima and Marisa lie on the ground, covered in charms and some yin-yang orbs lie on the ground next to them.

Sanae, Budou and Phredia, Alice and the dolls, Shinki, Ran, Chen, Maribel and Renko sleep close to each other inside individual futons in the shrine's living room and Medicine sleeps with her back against Luna's abdomen, using her as a pillow.

On the roof of the shrine, Suika, Aya and Momiji sleep soundly, spreading their arms widely while lightly snoring.

Yuka and Ayalina have already left, and Reimu looks sleepy and annoyed, sitting with her back against the wall, and having her arm used as a pillow by Rika, who mumbles incoherently while blushing and lightly rubbing her face on Reimu's arm.

Reimu manages to escape Rika, getting up and heading straight to the back of the shrine, where Remilia and Sakuya land just as she exits the shrine.

Remilia looks seriously at Reimu and says "Reimu, I don't know how it happened, but the lake is almost entirely scarlet."

Reimu face palms and says "no... I thought I had more time."

Sakuya coughs a little, then says "we-we tried to look into this, but-"

Reimu gasps and says "Remilia, how could you?"

Remilia snaps back "she tried taking matter into her own hands an almost ended up dead, if it weren't for a certain... shadow."

Reimu stares back at Remilia, who continues "so what are you going to do about it?"

Reimu says "the records at the shrine say the lake healed by itself. They also state that while the waters are scarlet, no life can be sustained in there."

Sakuya gasps for air, then begins to cough as she kneels on the ground, holding her neck.

Remilia says "she's one stubborn maid, isn't she?"

Reimu kneels down next to Sakuya and while placing an amulet around her neck, she says "Sakuya, don't forget you are human. Whether you like it or not, we have limits."

Sakuya stops coughing the moment Reimu places the amulet on her, then stands up and says "I still wish to help, miss Reimu."

Reimu looks to Remilia as she looks down a bit embarrassed and says "me too. I wish to help out too."

Reimu sighs and says "Rika's going to be sore about this, but I'll have to leave her behind."

Reimu pulls her gohei from under her sleeve and smiles as she lifts to the sky and says "well, better deal with this now before the damage is irreversible."

Remilia turns to Sakuya and says "no matter what happens, Sakuya Izayoi, I want you to GET to the mansion if things get too out of hand, you understand?"

Sakuya looks away, making Remilia angrily grab her chin and pull her face toward her and growls "that is an ORDER!"

Sakuya sighs and says "as you with... my lady."

-

To be continued...

Characters, scenario and spell cards belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Luna, Budou, Phredia, Ayalina, Kimi & Kali were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

DEC 27 2009

written by

Willie G.R.


	25. Chapter 24 A Scarlet Shower 3

Early morning at the Moriya Shrine.

Suwako flies to the back of the lake, carrying an unconscious Kanako by the back of her shirt. Suwako remembers the night of the party.

{FLASHBACK}

Kanako sits on the shrine's porch next to Mima and Marisa, watching Rika pace around from left to right, saying "...because my lady is the BEST there is, and there is no one better, because she is MY mistress.. and nobody else's... is that clear?"

The three laugh hard and Kanako says "she's a really fun drunk, don't you think?"

Mima and Marisa nod, then Kanako asks "so how many she have?"

Marisa's mouth wriggle as she prepares to talk, but Mima beats her to it, saying "she only had a tiny cup... nothing more."

Kanako laughs hard and says "what a light-weight."

Suwako flies by, headed toward the shrine's lake, but stops when she sees Rika pacing around and talking incoherently and decides to land next to the three drunkards.

Suwako asks "who got her drunk?"

Mima and Marisa proudly lift their sake cups and shout at the same time "AI~!"

Suwako angrily places both hands on her hips, and in a reprehensive tone of voice she says "you two should be ashamed. Stop picking on that girl."

Kanako chuckles as she looks to Marisa and Mima, then says "better listen to her. She's already a WOMAN!"

All 3 start to laugh hard, but Suwako only gets mad and says "hey, Kanako. Keep it down, you idiot!"

Mima, Marisa and Kanako say "ooh~!" at the same time, then Kanako says "lighten up, miss woman!"

Sanae walks by just as Kanako says that, then curiously asks "miss Yasaka, what are you talking about?"

Suwako panics and says "nothing! It's nothing, Sanae. Just go enjoy yourself somewhere-"

Kanako bluntly says "we're talking about how this frog's already a full grown woman!"

Sanae blushes and asks "Lady Moriya, is this true? Have you..?"

Suwako quickly says "no, no. She's drunk. Don't listen to her!"

Sanae stares curiously, then smiles and says "ah, I see."

Kanako angrily says "what are you talking about, you toad."

Kanako takes another gulp of sake and continues "you should be PROUD and tell the world you are Sanae's..."

Before Kanako manages to finish her sentence, Suwako, hiding her eyes under her hat, rushes to her, grabs a sake bottle, then strikes Kanako hard on the head, breaking it in the process.

Sanae curiously asks "she's my what!?"

Suwako forces a fake smile as she says "Sanae's favorite goddess!"

Sanae gasps when Suwako grabs the unconscious Kanako by the back of her shirt, quickly saying "on my, look at this; she passed out! Well, I best be taking her back home. See you later Sanae!"

Sanae looks toward the two goddesses quite confused, then Mima asks "hey, green maiden. Do you have any sake one you?"

Sanae smiles angrily and says "I wear blue and white, not green!"

{FLASHBACK END}

Suwako's eyes fill with tears as she reaches the lake; clenching her teeth and growling, she flings Kanako to the water, making a loud and messy splash.

Some bubbles rise from where Kanako is, then the goddess pops her head from under the water, spluttering and shouting "god overboard! Someone get the line!"

Suwako shouts "WAKE UP you lousy drunk!"

Kanako realizes where she is, then confused, she looks at the angry Suwako, then angrily shouts "hey, what's your problem!?"

Suwako shouts "SHUT UP! You idiot, you almost told Sanae EVERYTHING!"

Kanako, looking confused asks "what are you talking about!?"

Suwako shouts "you promised you'd keep quiet about Sanae and me."

Still looking confused, Kanako stares back at Suwako and asks "so... did you tell her?"

A washtub falls from the sky straight toward Suwako as her eyes turn white and her face turns bright red.

She grabs the silver washtub just before it touches her, then throws it hard toward Kanako, landing it's edge on the goddess' forehead, then angrily flies away, shouting "and don't even think I'll help you anymore with Ail! Leave the idiot alone already!"

-

Meanwhile, at Eirin's clinic, Ail is fully recovered and opens a gap to the Hakurei Shrine, holding the still bandaged Kyo next to the gap and saying "wow, he's heavy. Eirin, are you sure I can take him back?"

Eirin smiles and says "of course you can. Just make sure he stays in that cast for at least 3 more days."

Ail smiles and nods, then says "got it. I'll let Luna know. Take care, and thanks for ending those marriage jokes."

Kyo asks a muffled "marriage jokes?"

As they enter the gap Ail says "I'll tell you later."

At the Hakurei Shrine, Ail's gap opens right in front of the shrine's entrance, saying "...and after all that, Eirin finally explained, calmed Sanae down, got Kaguya to stop following me, and just like that..."

Ail manages to pull Kyo from the gap, then closes it, takes a breath, then finishes says "...she's smiling at me again. I still don't get what happened there."

Kyo thinks "how dense can you get?" but before he can say anything to his friend, Luna comes from the front of the shrine and asks "and where have you two been? And what did you do to my Kyo, you brute!?"

Luna smacks Ail on the head before he can explain, then Kyo speaks through the cast, saying "Rika beat us both up."

Luna stops strangling Ail and looks curiously at Kyo, then says "oh" looks at Ail, lets him go, then smiles and says "sorry about that."

As Ail rubs his neck, saying "it's alright *cough*" Budou wakes up along with Chen and Phredia, looks at Ail and with a smile says "good morning Papa, Luna, large brother."

Kyo growls softly under the cast, but says nothing.

A while later, Ail stands at the shrine's gate with Budou and Sanae, Budou giving Ail a light hug and saying "I'll fly home later. I want to play with Chen a little more."

Ail smiles and as he hugs her back he says "I'll be waiting for your safe return, then."

Budou giggles, then as soon as Ail sets her back on the ground, she runs back to Chen and Ran, who waves at Ail and promptly follows the two girls.

Sanae chuckles and says "she's becoming more independent."

Ail adds "they grow up so fast *sniffle*"

Sanae smiles, then says "I better head to my shrine. Lady Yasaka and lady Moriya left in an unusual manner."

Ail chuckles and says "those two are a hoot."

The two stand there looking at each other for a moment, then Ail suddenly starts to fly and says "see you later, Sanae."

Sanae slowly waves back and softly says "see you later."

-

Ail lands just next to the door of his house, and before opening it, he says "*sigh* when was the last time I was here?"

He opens the door and looks inside before entering, saying "I don't even recognize this place. Hmm, maybe I should keep a low profile. Stay inside a few days, and just enjoy some peace and quiet."

From the corridor leading to his room, red and blue danmaku orbs shower on him, exploding lightly as they contact on the floors and furniture.

Ail jumps behind his couch and shouts "who's there!?"

Another shower or red and blue orbs comes from the corridor, so Ail wastes no time, and the second the shower stops, he springs out of hiding and runs straight to his room and tackles a very familiar-looking fairy, wearing black clothes with red designs.

Ail grabs the struggling fairy by her shoulders and after getting a better look, he asks "Lily White?"

The fairy wears the white mask with the uncovered left eye Ail had tossed away before at the outside world's mountain.

The mask falls off, revealing Lily Black glaring back at Ail and shouting "let me GO, you nosy human!"

Ail stares at the mask and says "I crushed that thing and threw it away. Tell me, little fairy, where did you get this?"

Lily Black snaps back "figure it out!"

Ail holds the little fairy in a headlock and asks "who are you?"

Struggling to break free, the little fairy replies "I'm Lily black. ACK! Let me go!"

Ail asks "so, Lily White's sister, I see. Tell me, how did you get this mask? And more importantly, what's your problem with me?"

Giving up and relaxing a little, while still in a head-lock, Lily Black says "yes, I'm her sister; that mask flew right into my hands, but lady Shikieiki took it away. You wouldn't believe the troubles I went through to get it back and restore this."

Ail releases the fairy, letting her fall to the ground, then says "I see. Well, that still doesn't explain why you are attacking me."

Lily Black rubs her neck while saying "well, you are the nosy idiot that ratted my location out."

Ail looks confused, then Lily says "The Nameless Hill? A crystal-colored armor? Ring any bells, genius?"

Ail smacks the fairy's head and says "ahh, so YOU were the one wearing that thing."

Lily angrily rubs her head and replies "yeah! And I was having FUN until you came along. But... I guess it was for the better."

Ail looks at the fairy a little confused as she walks outside.

Before leaving, she turns halfway and says "that armor was alive. It came here to avenge the death of its brother. Some sort of gigantic crystal slug."

Ail says to himself "the slug Flandre destroyed, back when I was a dog the first time."

Lily shrugs and says "maybe. It did go berserk when we saw a blonde vampire in a red dress."

Ail stands next to the door to his room, thinking about something, when Lily Black says "well, whatever, half-human. I'm going home before that yama finds out I'm gone. Smell ya later." then flies away.

Ail waves at her and says "yeah... Later." then continues to stare at the white mast, asking himself "this thing returns to me, but why?"

-

At the Scarlet Devil Mansion, inside the library, Reimu and Patchouli are inside a large magical circle, sitting with their legs crossed under their clothes and with their eyes closed.

Reimu says "Patchouli, this isn't working. I still can't spot the source of the contamination."

Patchouli replies "then let's look for someone, instead of something."

Reimu tightens her eyes, concentrating hard, then says "I see... I see two silhouettes. But I can't make them out."

Patchouli says "then just concentrate on their location."

Remilia comes into the library and walks straight to where Reimu and Patchouli are, then stares curiously at them.

Reimu says "they seem to be hiding in the deepest parts of the lake... How do we get them out?"

Patchouli breaks her concentration, opening her eyes and looking behind her, then says "Koa, be a dear and get me a book for luring and capture spells."

Koakuma salutes and says "right away, lady Patchouli."

Remilia continues to stare curiously, then grabs a chair and places it backward, sitting on it as it is and using the back-rest to place her hands and rest her head, then asks "you think this will work?"

Patchouli smiles and says "whether it works or not, it's the only thing we can do without risking ourselves."

Reimu adds "if we go inside those waters, we are dead."

Remilia lightly flaps her wings and says "wonder what fool would want to poison the lake like that?"

In an instant, Sakuya pops right next to Remilia and quietly places a cup of tea on the desk next to her mistress, and says "you tea, my lady."

Remilia grabs the cup, saying "thanks, Sakuya" while Koakuma returns with a thick black book, handing it to Patchouli.

Remilia takes a sip from her cup, then smiles and says "the idiot is doing something."

Sakuya and Reimu both look at Remilia, then Sakuya asks "pardon me, my lady?"

Remilia continues to smile and says "you and Patchy will have to handle her, while Reimu and I take care of the culprits. Understood?"

Patchouli quickly nods and says "we should be able to handle her."

Sakuya bows and says "as you wish, my lady."

Outside the mansion, Meiling curiously approaches the shore of the lake as it slowly turns scarlet.

She looks at the water with wonderment and says "that's odd. And I don't see any of the fairies around here. Hmm... maybe they are on vacation..."

A feint scent from the scarlet waters reach Meiling's nostrils, then something inside her head pulsates.

Her eyes open wide as she stares around with a blank expression. She somberly walks back to her post at the gate of the mansion, then stands there, silently staring with her blank aquamarine eyes wide open.

-

Meanwhile, Marisa arrives to her home at the Forest of Magic, and finds two girls knocked out on the ground full of burn marks and frostbites.

Mai lies on her back with her arms, legs and demon wings spread open, while Yuki lies on her belly next to the door to the house with her eyes spinning in circles.

Marisa stares at the scene for a while with a shocked and disappointed look and says "this is something you don't get to see every day, ze."

Yuki smiles and says "hey, heh heh, Marisa. Ca-came to help."

Mai groans and says "I need some food and a shower."

Marisa grins, laughs, then says "alright, let's get you inside. I'll prepare a bath, some food, and I think I may have some robes you could wear while we clean and dry those dirty clothes of yours."

Mai manages to sit and rub her head, then looks at Marisa and asks "what's the catch?"

Marisa smiles and says "join me and Yuki as we dig a nice little basement for my house."

Mai groans and says "I think I rather have Yumeko scolding me again."

Marisa smiles and shrugs, then says "suit yourself, da-ze."

Mai's wings shine for a moment, then return to their normal, small angel-like size and shape. She manages to stand up, then says "alright, I'll help... for a bit."

Marisa lightly claps her hands in front of her chest while smiling, then says "great! You won't be sorry. I'll whip up something good while you take that bath, then we can get to work here, ze."

Yuki continues to lie on the ground, then says "he he he~ This is going to be fun."

Meanwhile, above the Garden of The Sun, Kurumi and Elly fly around aimlessly.

Elly, looking sad and about ready to cry says "I got beat hard twice, got lost on the way back home, and now, there's a blonde vampire following me."

Annoyed, Kurumi says "hey~ I can hear you loud and clear from here. And it's your own fault we are lost in this forsaken field! Ugh! Sunflowers as far as I can see. *Sigh* I wanna go home~!"

Yuka floats behind them, but neither notice her.

She surprises both girls when she says "well, hello there. Glad you came to visit."

Kurumi smiles and exclaims "miss Yuka~!"

Elly gasps, dusts herself, combs her hair with her hands, and with a light-pink blush on her cheeks she looks at Yuka and says "lady Yukarin, what a pleasant surprise!"

Yuka looks at both casually and asks "so, what are you two doing here, leaving Mugekan completely unprotected?"

Elly gasps and breaks like glass after realizing she's left the mansion alone and unprotected.

She sniffles "I-I'm sorry, miss Yuka, but... we got lost and, and *sniffle*"

Yuka extends her arm around Elly, placing her hand on her shoulder, then does the same for Kurumi and calmly says "hey, hey, calm down. We can fix all this."

Elly smiles widely and asks "really? We can?"

Yuka tenderly says "of course, of course. Come now, and let us fix this little problem down there in my house."

Kurumi excitedly says "yay! Miss Yuka's house!"

As they slowly descend, Elly looks at the small house they are heading toward and says "wow, it's smaller than Mugekan. Maybe miss Yukarin will return to the old mansion with us now?"

Yuka smirks with jagged teeth and says "oh no, no, I can't do that now."

Kurumi curiously asks "eeh? Then how are we going to 'fix' this problem."

Yuka's jagged smirk widens, her eyes narrow and glow red, and she tightens her grip on the girls, then says "some old-fashioned punishment."

Kurumi starts to tremble, but Elly starts to smile and drool and asks "o-old-fashioned?"

Yuka simply smiles and Elly excitedly shouts "miss Yukarin is the BEST!" while Kurumi quietly shivers and sobs.

-

It's almost noon, and at the Hakurei Shrine's dining table, Rika and Mima are having a discussion on the proper ways to clean the shrine's ceiling, while Budou and Chen have an actual training battle at the back of the shrine, supervised by Ran and Phredia.

Chen fires various circles of petal danmaku bullets in groups of red and blue, while Budou fires blue zigzagging lasers and orbs that fan out as they fly toward Chen.

Both girls continue to shoot at each other, creating a dense concentration of danmaku, and forget to dodge the attacks headed their way.

Ran shouts "Chen, Budou, remember to dodge, remember to- Look out!"

Ran and Phredia cover their eyes with their hands as a barrage of explosions come accompanied by the two girls' screams.

When they uncover their eyes again, they find a lot of smoke in front of them.

Concernedly, Ran shouts "Chen! Budou! Are you alright?"

Nobody answers. Phredia and Ran look at each other, then both quickly enter the thick smoke curtain, finding the two dazed girls on the ground with their eyes spinning in place.

Ran sighs and says "your attacks are impressive, but that means nothing if you forget to look after yourself."

From behind the clearing smoke curtain, Sanae says "that's right. If you shoot and shoot and don't dodge, you'll end up hurt."

Chen sits up, smiling sheepishly and saying "heh heh, sorry Ran-shama. I forgot."

Budou rubs her head while Phredia inspects her thoroughly, and says "mama Sanny and lady Nine-tails are right. I should be more careful too."

Sanae comes to view as soon as the smoke clears.

She smiles and giggles then says "why don't me and miss Ran show you how it's done?"

Ran sweats and asks "eh? Are you sure?"

Sanae continues to smile and flaps her hand in the air, saying "come on, it's just a friendly match. No spell cards even. Just to show the girls how to defend themselves properly."

Still looking at bit concerned, Ran says "well, ok. Just don' take it too seriously."

Budou, Chen and Phredia sit on the shrine's porch to watch Sanae and Ran's friendly match, hoping to learn from a pair of pros.

Chen shouts "you can do it, Ran-sama~!"

Budou flaps her wings and shouts "show us how it's done, mama~!"

Sanae and Ran both smile at the girls, wink, and flip their thumbs up as they lift to the sky.

Sanae prepares blue and red orbs in shape of stars, then fires arcs of small white orbs that mix with the others as they fan out toward Ran.

Ran fires purple kunai knives and green petals that twist around each other as they home in on Sanae.

As they fire at each other, they cautiously graze through the bullets, some missing by mere inches.

Both Ran and Sanae look at each other, then smirk, increasing the concentration of danmaku they fire.

Ready to intercept the bullet showers, Ran and Sanae begin to cautiously dodge through bullets, when a pair of golden washtubs fall straight on to their heads, knocking them out and causing them to crash against the bullets as they fall.

Budou shouts "mama~!" as Chen shouts "Ran-sama~!"

They try to run to them, but another thick smoke curtain is in their way, and they get too afraid to enter it.

From behind, Rika says "let me help you."

Looking a little concerned, Rika places her open hands in front of her chest, pointing them at the smoke curtain, and a soft gust of wind blows it away, revealing the two girls sitting on the floor with their backs against each other and their eyes spinning.

Budou and Chen look at them curiously, scratching their heads in wonderment.

Mima approaches the scene, smiles and says "that, ladies, is called a handicap." then cackles hard.

-

At the Misty Lake, Kimi and Kali are trapped on the sky inside a magical circle each.

Kimi knows it's Reimu, and she knows if Reimu finds out she's the cause of the lake's state, she's going to get sealed.

In despair, she turns into a dragon and abandons Kali, saying "stall the maiden while I figure something out!"

Kali growls and shouts "how am I supposed to do that!?"

Turning back to human and hiding behind some thick bushes at the back of the mansion Kimi shouts "I'll channel some power, but DON'T KILL HER!"

Shortly after, Reimu and Remilia with her umbrella in hand fly out the clock tower, heading to the back of the mansion, while Patchouli and Sakuya fly from the front entrance and intercept Meiling high in the air, who stares back at them with her aquamarine eyes wide open, yet gazing blankly and emotionless.

Sakuya shouts "Meiling, stand down!"

Meiling calmly replies "you shouldn't be here. Now, I must kill you."

Patchouli surrounds herself in a water bubble, then says "we're gonna have to take her out."

Sakuya replies "I was hoping she would listen, but, oh well!"

Meanwhile, Reimu and Remilia reach Kali, who breaks free from the magical circle and immediately shoots massive dark orbs straight at them.

Reimu shouts "give up now, or you're going to be sorry!"

Kali replies with a barrage of smaller black orbs that home in on Reimu, who uses a few charm and turns all the orbs into dust.

She pulls out her gohei from under her sleeve and says "have it your way."

Remilia rushes straight to Kali and tries to cut her with her bare claws, but Kali turns to her shadow form and laughs, then shoots various massive black orbs, making Remilia zigzag in the air.

Reimu shoots a pack of at least 30 homing amulets that cling on the shadow, causing her skin to burn, even in shadow form.

Kali's scream of pain and frustration echoes all over the lake, then pulls out a spell card from her jacket, just as Remilia rejoins Reimu, then shouts "Shadow Morph!"

Immediately she takes the shape of a large snake dragon with small white wings.

Reimu smirks along with Remilia, then says "and now we know who the real culprit is."

Remilia adds "what a naughty girl she is, right Reimu?"

Reimu says "good thing I brought the large spanking board."

Meanwhile, Sakuya is dumbfounded as Meiling's speed and power increase with every second.

She stops time and sets daggers all around the gate guard, but the moment she releases time again Meiling speeds through the small gaps between the blades with great agility, not even getting grazed as the daggers fly toward their targeted area.

Sakuya gasps and says "she avoided my daggers like they weren't even there!"

From behind her, Patchouli shouts "Five Elements Sign – Philosopher Stone!"

Sakuya immediately rushes upward as Patchouli unleashes a fast curtain of elemental shard danmaku at Meiling, who continues to stare with her eyes wide open.

The dragon youkai looks closely at the danmaku shower and spots a small gap between the fire and water shards, then speeds through it, getting closer to Patchouli.

Meiling lunges herself with a kick toward the magician, breaking her bubble shield and kicking her hard on the stomach, sending her to the ground by force, along with the 5 elemental stones.

Sakuya quickly flies in front of Meiling before she gives chase, then says "I guess it's time to teach you again why I am your boss".

-

Meanwhile, for the third time in a row, Remilia and Reimu dodge the giant shadow snake dragon, who continues to try and ram them with its colossal body.

Remilia shouts "same spell, over and over. This is getting OLD!"

Reimu laughs and says "alright already, the fun's over. Do it!"

Remilia smiles and raises her hand to her face, unleashes her claws, then surround her hand in scarlet fire.

Kali, in her dragon from, notices Remilia and thinks "that looks powerful. Better take care of the twerp first!"

She lunges straight at Remilia, unwisely ignoring Reimu, and opens her mouth, ready to bite down on the vampire, but at the very last second, Remilia sways to the right and lets her claw graze the shadow's body, opening a large scarlet wound from the neck to the tail, making Kali roar in agony as she writes in mid-air.

Kali's spell cancels out, turning her back to normal as she falls to the island below.

Kali screams "dammit, this hurts! I was too carless!"

Before she manages to control the pain and get up, Reimu comes from behind with a spell card on her hand and a smile on her face and says "let me take care of that curse for you. Divine Arts – Demon Binding Circle."

An orange pillar surrounds both Reimu and Kali, making the shadow scream as the orange energy burns her.

The curse Remilia placed on her vanishes, but the divine punishment still drives Kali mad with pain, screaming "make it stop! Make it stop already!"

Kimi watches from under the bushes she's hiding and says "hmph... not bad, miss maiden. Let me channel just a bit more for you, Kali. You can thank me later."

Kimi points her hands at Kali and closes her eyes, concentrating as she channels more of her own power toward Kali.

As the spell continues, Reimu looks toward Kimi's direction, but doesn't see her.

She thinks "there's power being channeled over here... but I can't see her?"

Kali stops screaming and starts laughing, surprising Reimu as her spell finally finishes.

Kali smiles wickedly at Reimu, pulls out a spell card, then says "now it's my turn, miss maiden. Shadow Sign – Binding Darkness!!"

Everything turns dark, and both Reimu and Remilia are left blind in that moment.

Just like that, light comes through and Remilia confidently says "heh, what a waste of a spell card, don't you think, Reimu? ... Reimu?"

When Remilia looks to Reimu, all she sees are about 8 massive black orbs constricting Reimu, rendering her helpless in the air.

Remilia growls and shouts "I'll get you out of-"

Before she is able to finish her sentence, Kali rushes straight to the vampire and tackles her to the ground, knocking her umbrella from her hands, then laughs and says "keep your eyes on the enemy, little twerp."

Remilia growls as she gets up from the ground, but before she can react, she has a shower of black lightning striking her hard and pinning her down, coming from Kali's fingertips as she cackles.

-

Above the mansion's gates Sakuya glares at Meiling while holding her Luna Dial and a spell card in her right hand, and a few daggers on her left.

Meiling stares curiously at the hand watch and the daggers, then calmly asks "what kind of game do you think we are playing?"

Sakuya silently smirks, then Meiling continues "you have entered the lake. I must kill you. If you believe this to be a mere game, it's the same to me. I will kill you."

Sakuya calmly says "Sakuya's World"

Time freezes and Sakuya moves quickly, setting daggers as close as possible to the gate guard, then spreading farther and setting even more daggers, making sure the gaps between them are minimum.

When Meiling is fully surrounded and after making sure all gaps between the knives are covered, Sakuya unfreezes time with a smirk on her face.

In a fraction of a second, Meiling looks at her surroundings and manages to grab two of the closest daggers, getting a cut on both hands while doing so.

After that, she uses the acquired daggers and her shoes to deflect all the daggers, moving so unbelievably fast Sakuya is not even sure if what's happening, until she notices most of her daggers flying straight back to her.

She gasps and flinches, and just like that, she is struck by her own daggers, quickly falling to the ground below.

Meiling continues to stare emotionless as her opponent falls, then tries to follow the maid to finish the job, but from behind comes Flandre, flying her red U.F.O. with Koishi sitting beside her with a smile, and Nue lying on the back seat.

She crashes on Meiling's head, then Koishi asks with a smile "did you hit something just now?"

Flandre confidently says "no way. I got my eyes on the sky!"

She looks down and sees Remilia getting beat by Kali, then says "oh, you don't mess with onee-sama and get away with it while I'M around."

Nue casually asks "so you're going to try the guns?"

Flandre doesn't answer and simply pushes a big red button with a wicked, jagged toothed smile on her face.

From directly below Meiling, Patchouli shouts "Moon Sign – Silent Selene!"

Blue beams and oval blue bullets strike Meiling, however she does not even flinch, and even though she has a bump on her head and Patchouli attacking her from below, she continues to stare straight at the knocked out Sakuya on the ground, with intent to finish the job.

Patchouli's spell stops and immediately, the magician grabs another spell card and shouts "Sun Sign – Royal Flare~!"

Somehow, she manages to concentrate the small sun on Meiling, whom at first simply stops and covers her face, but shortly after, she starts to scream, then falls to the ground.

Patchouli breathes heavily as she says "finally. *gasp* We did it. *wheeze* Mukyu!"

Patchouli falls on the ground with a book to her left, and further ahead, Sakuya lies on her back, slowly and painfully removing her daggers from her body, and behind the gates of the mansion, on top of one of the flowerbeds, Meiling struggles to pull her head from under the ground, and after managing to free herself, she stumbles left and right, trying to keep herself balanced, but despite her stubborn efforts to stay on her feet, she falls with her back against the mansion's wall, sitting on top of a few more flowers.

-

Meanwhile, Reimu wiggles an arm free from the black orbs and desperately tries to find a way to break away from the binding dark orbs, while Remilia is still being pinned down by Kali's dark electric bolts.

Remilia struggles against the shocking pain and manages to place one of her wings like a shield, escaping the dark electricity's shock, however she's unable to move from that spot on the ground.

She clenches her teeth in anger and thinks "shit! There's nothing I can do now, but wait. Reimu, I hope you're preparing something good in there."

Kali continues her assault, however she is distracted by a red, round flying object that hovers close by.

From it, a ball of light comes down and gets close to her, and in a flash, it turns into a cockroach that lands right on the tip of the shadow's nose.

Kali stops shooting her bolts and starts to sweat, her eyes open wide, her pupils shrink, then she suddenly starts screaming "WAAH~~! Disgusting! Get it off me~!"

From Flandre's vehicle, two large thick orange beams fly fast toward the ground.

One strikes some of the orbs holding Reimu and freeing the maiden, while the other strikes Kali as soon as the little cockroach flies off the shadow's nose, sending her down hard toward the scarlet waters.

Reimu flies down to Remilia, then says "go with your sister and take care of your family."

Remilia angrily asks "WHAT!? After all this!?"

Reimu flashes her spell card to Remilia while saying "you can stay if you want, but I rather not seal you today."

Remilia looks at the card and sees it's Fantasy Heaven.

She gasps and flies straight to Flandre's flying saucer and shouts "give her one for me!"

As soon as she's on the flying saucer, Koishi says "ah, welcome aboard." and places a new umbrella over the vampire's head.

Remilia quickly says "Flan, she's using that spell!"

Immediately after Nue turns to youkai in a flash and sits next to Remilia, Flandre worriedly says "evasive maneuvers! Hang on tight!"

The red saucer speeds away just as Kali flies out of the waters, screaming enraged and preparing two large scarlet water pillars on each side.

Reimu tosses various yellow amulets that pass under Kali, then Reimu shouts "come on, girl!"

Kali points her left arm toward Reimu, making the left water pillar bend and move like a snake toward the maiden, and points the right one toward Flandre's flying vehicle, but the yellow amulets Reimu had tossed earlier make an u-turn and stick to Kali's back, making both water pillars vanish in an instant as soon as they touch the shadow, and making Kali fall on the shore.

Reimu continues to hold her spell card in her hand as she walks to Kali, then says "I'm sorry, but you give me no choice. I am going to seal you for good."

Reimu closes her eyes and wind from out of nowhere starts blowing all around her, making her hair and clothes wave around violently.

Reimu opens her eyes again as she begins to hover three feet above the ground and then shouts "Fantasy Heaven!"

From behind some bushes close to where Kali is, Kimi watches as Reimu prepare her spell, thinking "that's a lot of power... But it's nothing my own power can't handle, so Kali's safe."

7 white yin-yang orbs form around Reimu, all spinning around her progressively faster with each second.

Kimi gasps, then says "thi-this power! NO! This is incredible! Even using all my power..."

Kimi unconsciously runs between Reimu and Kali, kneeling on the ground and bowing so low her head touches the ground.

Kimi says "miss maiden! This one is under my care and I promised she would be safe. Please, spare her!"

As if not even listening, Reimu continues her spell while staring into Kimi's eyes.

Kimi stares back with both respect and fear, then Reimu smiles and says "alright, real culprit. I'll spare her."

She cancels her spell and extends her hand to Kimi, who gladly accepts, though staring back at Reimu completely awestruck.

-

After a bit of time passes, Kali manages to recover, but quickly finds herself kneeling beside Kimi, as they bow their heads to Reimu, who paces for a moment, then stops and looks at the two shadows.

She smiles, then playfully says "alright, I decided I will definitely NOT seal you, BUT, you have to heal this lake, AND answer some questions."

Without waiting for another second, Kimi stands up and turns into her large snake-dragon self, then dives into the water, making a loud splash and a large wave that gets Kali completely wet again, even though she's at least 14 feet away from the shore.

The water misses Reimu completely, and after Kali spits out some scarlet water, she looks at Reimu a little annoyed and says "after this, I'm going to a desert."

Underwater, Kimi roars, creating an sound wave that seems to shift many rocks from the bottom of the lake, making it smooth and clean.

From top-side, the lake rapidly heals and it's waters quickly change from bloody scarlet, to crystal blue.

Reimu sighs with relief and says "finally. Those pesky fairies can come back home."

There is another splash as Kimi darts out of the water, quickly turning back to her human form and lands kneeling on her left knee, elegantly placing her left hand on her right knee, then says "the lake is healed, although it will take a few days for its complete recovery."

Reimu smiles and says "thank you."

Somehow, Reimu's thanks cause Kimi to blush and look away.

Meanwhile, at the mansion grounds, Meiling wakes up and looks around asking "wah? What happened? Why am I sitting?"

She looks around herself and slowly realizes many flowers have been destroyed.

She springs on her feet and shouts "what the hell happened here!? What happened to the flowers!?"

She looks at her feet and realizes she's standing on some dead flowers and jumps away while shouting "no~! I stepped on the flowers!"

Remilia, Sakuya and Patchouli come walking toward Meiling.

Patchouli has a bandage around her head, while Sakuya looks like a mummy, being covered by bandages all over her arms, legs and face.

When Meiling turns to face them, she gasps and shouts "oh my goodness! Miss Sakuya, lady Patchouli! What happened to you two!?"

Sakuya and Patchouli casually look at each other, then look at Remilia, who says "just like Reimu said. She doesn't remember a thing."

All three giggle while Meiling continues to stare confused.

Remilia approaches the gate guard and with a smirk on her face she says "don't mind the small details. Patchy, please treat her wounds. After that, miss gate guard, I want you to tend to the garden."

She turns around, almost striking the back of Sakuya's head with her umbrella and as she walks back inside her mansion she says "come on Sakuya. It's tea time."

Sakuya bows her head and says "right away, my lady."

Meiling continues to stare confused at Patchouli and asks "lady Patchouli, what in the world happened here today?"

Patchouli chuckles while above them in the sky, a black blob flies aimlessly, saying "is that so- kyah!"

A red round flying object smacks the black blob and knocks it out of the sky, and quickly Flandre says "oh, I think I hit something."

Nue laughs hard and says "you need glasses!"

Koishi giggles and says "I think you'd look cute."

Flandre smiles and replies "someone wants to fall down to the lake, it seems."

-

Back with Reimu, she bends down to meet Kimi face to face, then says "stand up already, or it's going to be hard to ask you anything."

Kimi gulps and blushes, having Reimu's face merely inches away from hers. She clears her throat and stands up while saying "right. Sorry about that. Now please, ask away."

Reimu places her hands on her waist and asks "first, I'd like to know... How did you manage to damage this lake so much?"

Kimi and Kali look at each other for a moment, then Kimi nods and says "we broke the bottom and released some scarlet fumes."

Reimu asks "why? What were you hoping to accomplish?"

Kimi immediately replies "there's this... memory. It's something in my head. An image of this lake in red. I wanted that. It makes me feel very comfortable."

On the background, Kali says "not me."

Ignoring Kali, Reimu says "well I am sorry to have to tell you, but you'll have to look for some other way to feel comfortable. Bringing something as dangerous as the scarlet lake back is something I cannot allow."

Kimi turns her eyes away to hide her disappointment and frustration from Reimu, who notices and says "I'm sorry, Kimi, but this lake is home to many youkai, and humans from the village will come here sometimes."

She notices Kimi trembling and clenching her teeth, so Reimu gets closer and pats Kimi on the head and says "it won't be easy, but you'll manage. You just need to find your place."

Reimu backs away while Kimi stares at her with surprise, then Reimu points at the yellow star in the sky and asks "I wanted to ask you about that as well."

Kimi stares at the star, then back at Reimu, then asks "what do you wish to know about that?"

Reimu finds a rock beside a tree and sits there, looking away from Kimi as she says "before meeting you, we met the shadow of a goddess. This shadow... she was different from the others. She told us shadows want to kill their original selves in order to gain a life of their own. A friend of mine was going to be murdered that night by his shadow, however, she took the blow for him and turned into that star. Same happened in Makai with another shadow the inhabitants of Pandemonium befriended there."

Kimi continues to stare at Reimu, who suddenly stares back and asks "we had dealt with a few shadows before, and those turned to black dust when dead. Why did those two turn into yellow stars?"

Kimi and Kali look at each other, then Kali says "miss Kimi. They got a soul!"

Kimi immediately says "if I were to die now, I'd probably become one of those stars, miss Reimu."

Reimu stares back at Kimi as she continues "you see, shadows that can find their own souls without killing their original selves, after dying, they become stars in the sky, however, this yellow one is a mystery even to me."

Reimu asks "so what you are saying is, those two shadows found their souls and became stars when killed."

Kimi nods, then says "but that doesn't explain why the yellow stars. I mean, it's daytime and we can see them clearly."

Reimu smiles and gets up from the rock, then says "well then, thank you for your help. I'll be going now, however, if I find you doing some misdeed again, I will not hesitate to seal you both, you got that?"

Both Kimi and Kali nod and salute Reimu.

Farther ahead, above the lake, inside the red flying saucer, Flandre shouts "that's IT!"

Nue is thrown off the vehicle down to the lake, however, she laughs and says "I can turn into a fish, fool, ha ha ha~!"

Flandre growls and follows after the shape shifter, leaving Koishi on the runaway saucer.

Koishi happily says "oh, I can drive now."

The saucer flips, twists, turns, spins and finally crashes against the mansion's clock tower.

From inside the mansion Remilia shouts "FLANDRE~~!."

Flandre, who is now holding fish-Nue in the water calmly says "good thing I bought that kappa insurance."

Reimu face palms and says "just some peace. Is that too much to ask?"

Kali and Kimi simply stare on without saying a word.

-

3 days later, at Ail's house.

Budou plays on her computer, calmly saying "trying to hack me? You don't know who you're messing with, noob. Oh, and so you don't try it again, I'll send the Yuyuko virus and let it eat you latest acquired data."

Ail sits next to Sanae on the couch behind Budou and says "Budou, don't be a bully."

Budou says "he said you looked like a girl."

Ail quickly replies "crash his computer."

Budou chuckles and says "then I'll send the Yuka virus."

Sanae looks at Ail disappointed, then says "don't teach her to be mean. Budou, don't listen to your father. Two wrongs never make a right."

Budou giggles and says "alright mama. I'll be nice and send big sis Suwako virus instead."

Ail curiously asks "what does that one do?"

Budou looks back to the couch and says "every time he opens a program, it'll fail and close on him, erase his high scores in all his videogames, and offer him some virtual coffee that spills on the monitor and blocks his visibility."

Ail sweats and says to Sanae "she's like a cute little monster."

Sanae giggles and says "well at least it's not Chen's virus."

Ail asks "what does that one do?"

Sanae surprises Ail by grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to rest his head on her lap, and while playing with his hair with a grin on her face, she says "a large image of Chen covers the entire screen and blushes while looking up at you with sad, glassy eyes. Guaranteed to either give you a nosebleed or make you faint from cuteness overload."

Ail blushes as he looks at Sanae, who continues to play with his hair, then says "that... That's just dangerous. How many of those has she sent?"

Budou twists her body to look at the couch with an evil smile on her face and bright glints on her eyes.

Meanwhile, at the Yakumo's residence, Ran lies on the floor while on her chair in front of a small computer in the living room.

Her nose is covered in blood as she smiles and stares contently at the ceiling.

Yukari walks next to Ran and stares at her, then looks at the computer monitor and looks at the large image of Chen, holding her hat in her hands and looking up with sad and glassy eyes.

Yukari chuckles and says "technology is so dangerous."

Meanwhile, at the Moriya Shrine, inside Kanako's room.

The room is dark as Kanako has closed all the windows as best as she can and tinkers with her mirror.

At first, from the mirror itself, Ail's voice sounds very normal as he says "so you knew? Then why didn't you help me back there?" followed by Sakuya's voice as she says "well, it's not every day I get to tease someone like YOU that way. And also..."

Kanako growls, then says "no way... This won't... Wait."

From the mirror Sakuya is heard kissing Ail, then suddenly some moaning follows after.

Kanako smiles and says "yes! It's working. It's really working! THIS will sever that bond. Sanae, your lady Kanako will save you!"

At the Human Village, Kyo bursts out of his house and stretches on the porch, saying "ah~, it feels GREAT! No more casts or bandages! I'm CURED!"

He looks at the sky to his left and sees Mima flying and crying.

She shoots a few small orbs behind her and shouts "I told you, it was just FUN! Nobody got hurt!"

From behind comes Rika who shouts back "taking your skirt off at a school, just to show off your ghost tail ISN'T fun, it's obscene, and you must PAY for that!"

Mima stops crying and pulls down on her lower eye lid, then sticks out her tongue at Rika, then says "what do you know? You're boring!"

Rika shouts back "in the name of my lady Reimu, I have no choice! Oath Keeper!!"

Rika enters the golden gate and emerges with two swords on her back.

She grabs both and pulls them out at the same time so quickly, it gives Kyo some trouble to keep up with her.

Two magical blades, one fire and the other water, form an 'X' that strikes Mima hard, making her fall fast and hard straight at Kyo.

At Eirin's clinic, Eirin sighs and says "these will take five days. Four if you rests properly."

Kyo lies on a bed fully covered in bandages with only three holes on the face. One for his mouth and the others for his eyes.

Mima stands next to him with only a bandaged arm, and a small bandage around her head.

She smirks, pats Kyo's leg and says "cheer up. She apologized this time."

Kyo simply glares through the holes on the cast and softly growls.

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN –Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Luna, Budou, Phredia, Kimi and Kali were created by Willie G.R.

Agava/Kali's spell cards were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot 2010

JAN 3 2010

written by

Willie G.R.


	26. Chapter 25

Morning at the Hakurei Shrine.

4 days have passed since Reimu resolved the incident at the Misty Lake, and still there has been no sign of the remaining three shadows.

Other than Reimu, Ail, and the Entei aliens, Eirin, Reisen and Kaguya, everyone else seem relaxed, and some even think those remaining shadows could already be dead...

Reimu enjoys a good breakfast made by Rika, while said maid sweeps the shrine grounds of the many red leaves on the ground.

Reimu feels bliss as she enjoys the quiet moment, but she finds herself taking a deep breath and saying "well, so much for peace and quiet. Rika, could you fix the roof, please?"

Rika peeks her head from outside and asks "fix it?"

A loud crash and violent rumble are followed by a loud "HEY~~! HOW ARE YA~!?" by Tenshi Hinanai.

Rika quietly says "ah, I see what she means." and quickly mobilizes to fix the roof, tripping on her broom before being able to successfully dash away.

Tenshi sits on the keystone she used to break the roof of the shrine and casually says "at least say hi to me too."

Reimu takes a sip of her tea and looking a little annoyed, yet speaking casually, she says "you shouldn't break other people's roofs."

Tenshi looks at the hole on the roof and says "well, if you're angry..."

She turns her face to Reimu with a wicked grin on her own face and continues "...you can always battle me to feel better."

Reimu asks "why?"

Tenshi quickly replies "'cuz I'm bored."

Reimu casually replies "if you're bored, go do something constructive for a change."

Tenshi's eyes narrow as she pouts and sweats, then says "come on! I thought you were more fun than this. For heaven's sake, I made a hole on your roof!"

Reimu casually asks "what hole?"

Tenshi points above herself and says "that ho-"

When the celestial looks up, the hole she had just made is no more. The roof looks as if nothing ever came through.

Tenshi sweats and asks "wait... didn't I just break in?"

From the door, Rika loudly says "my lady~! I fixed the roof like you asked."

Tenshi's skin crawls after hearing Rika's voice, and she quickly turns to see the shrine's maid.

Her scarlet eyes narrow and her carefree expression quickly changes to a dangerous glare as she looks at Rika.

In an aggressive undertone, Tenshi asks "who the hell is that?"

Reimu takes one last gulp from her teacup and says "Tenshi, this is Rika, the new maid for the Hakurei Shrine. Rika, meet Tenshi Hinanai. She's that annoying celestial I told you about."

Rika bows and says "how do you do, miss Hinanai."

Tenshi springs up from her keystone and slowly gets closer to Rika.

She paces around the maid, staring at her up and down, over and over, then frowns and says "I don't like you."

Rika steps back, placing her right hand on her chest and looking very surprised she asks "b-beg your pardon?"

Reimu looks at Tenshi's eyes and sees anger.

She slowly reaches for her gohei and holds on tight as she says "Tenshi, I think you better leave."

Tenshi stares angrily at Reimu, then back at Rika.

She flips her hair at the maid while saying "hmph! Fine." then heads outside, and just before leaving, she glares once more at Rika, then says "I'll come see you some other time, Reimu." and just like that, she leaves.

Rika looks worriedly at her mistress and asks "did I do something wrong?"

Reimu smiles and says "don't worry. You didn't do anything wrong. That celestial was just out of place."

-

Shortly after Tenshi's departure, a whimsical pink-haired ghost floats to the top of the Hakurei Shrine's stairs.

With a carefree and whimsical smile on her face, she slowly floats toward the donation box and looks inside.

"Still empty. This god needs more attention. Maybe a miracle? Or perhaps a harder working maiden?" says Yuyuko.

From Yuyuko's right, looking very annoyed, Reimu angrily asks "can I help you?"

Yuyuko turns her smiling face at Reimu and says "ohh, hello miss maiden. Isn't it a wonderful morning?"

Reimu quickly replies "yeah yeah, wonderful. Hey, where's the half ghost? Shouldn't she be here protecting you?"

Yuyuko opens her fan and covers her happy and whimsical smile as she says "please call Youmu by her name."

Reimu rubs her forehead with her thumb and index finger and angrily says "fine. Where is Youmu?"

Yuyuko lowers her fan and asks "who?"

Reimu striker her with her gohei, crumpling her poofy light-blue hat and clearing her smiling face.

Yuyuko rubs the bump on her head and says "you didn't have to hit me so hard. Youmu's back home, tending to the gardens."

Reimu asks "does she know you are here?"

Yuyuko takes off her hat and fluffs it back to its original state, and after putting it back on she says "may~be."

At the Youkai Forest, Youmu and her ghost half look all over the place, turning over even the smallest rock while calling out "Yuyu-sama~! Where are you~?"

No response.

Youmu takes a deep breath of air and with all her might she shouts "Yuyuko Saigyouji-sama, please answer me!"

Again, no response.

Youmu sighs and while looking at her ghostly half she says "I'm getting so tired of this. Taking care of a princess of the Netherworld that doesn't care if she's protected or not. Ugh! I gave my word to master Youki, but I'm starting to regret all of it."

Youmu's ghost half spins once in the air, and stops while apparently facing Youmu.

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, Rika serves tea and snacks to Yuyuko and Reimu and says "if I may, I'm going to mop the interior now."

From inside, Maribel asks "can I help?" while Renko simply walks past Reimu and Yuyuko and says "I'm going to check on the new house's repairs. I'll see you later."

Reimu nods and Yuyuko says "remember, growing girls need plenty of food and rest."

Renko blushes and replies "err... sure. Thanks for the advice."

After an awkward chuckle and a nervous wave of the hand, Renko slowly lifts to the air and flies toward the Human Village.

Reimu takes a sip of tea and finds there are no more cookies on the tray between herself and Yuyuko, then angrily asks "Yuyuko, shouldn't you be back at Hakugyokurou, being it's princess or something?"

Yuyuko whimsically replies "it's a little boring today. Besides, aren't you enjoying my company?"

Reimu bluntly replies "not at all."

Yuyuko sweats and stares at Reimu, trying to hold on to her smile and saying "my, what a blunt reply that was."

-

A little later that morning, Youmu walks to the Hakurei Shrine talking to herself along the way, saying "...and I swear, if she's not there, I'm going straight home, and when she gets back, I'm going to give her a piece of my mi-"

Youmu is surprised when something grabs her shoulder and holds her tight.

After shaking off the shock, she turns around, holding both swords by their hilts in their sheathes, but immediately relaxes her battle face as soon as she sees Yuyuko.

Youmu sighs and lets go of her swords as she says "there you are. Yuyuko-sama, you shouldn't just run off whenever you like without telling me a thing. I was so worried!"

In a commanding tone of voice, and with a small and sinister smile, Yuyuko replies "my, what an impatient little girl. I was merely going for a stroll."

Youmu takes a better look at Yuyuko. She's wearing a darker colored kimono, her hair looks more colorful and lively, and her skin seems to have a light pink tone.

Youmu continues to stare at Yuyuko and asks "Yuyuko-sama, what happened to you? You look so... so lively."

S-Yuyuko stares angrily at Youmu, but quickly smiles and says "well, I got these new clothes at the village, and seems so much time under the sun must have affected me. Yeah, that's it."

Youmu looks at S-Yuyuko a little suspiciously, but shrugs and says "well, whatever. Let's just go back home. Come on."

Youmu quickly leads the way, anxious to get back home to the Netherworld, and doesn't notice S-Yuyuko's eyes glowing sky blue.

At the shrine, Reimu has convinced Yuyuko to join her in the hot springs, so as to keep her away from the food storages, where Rika and Mima place a 10th piece of board and nail it on the door, barring it from Yuyuko's ravenous hunger.

Rika's hands pulsate, making Mima laugh at her, saying "if you were a spirit like me, things like that would never happen to you."

Mima carelessly strikes hard with her hammer, thinking she's aiming at the last nail, but instead, she strikes the back of her hand with force, making her flinch fast and drop her hammer as she sticks her entire hand in her mouth.

Rika gasps and asks "miss Mima, are you ok?"

Mima forces herself to pull that hand out of her mouth, smiles and struggles to say "y-yeah. N-nothing to it."

Mima hides her red, pulsating hand behind her back as she sweats and smiles at the worried Rika.

-

Reaching the Netherworld's gates, Youmu and S-Yuyuko are greeted by the Prismriver sisters.

Lunasa, the blonde poltergeist girl with the black uniform is the first to approach them with a friendly smile and says "welcome back. I see you managed to find her unharmed."

Youmu replies "yes, I am most grateful for that too."

Lyrica, the brown haired poltergeist with the red uniform stares straight at S-Yuyuko, then says "lady Yuyuko. You look so alive today!"

From behind, the poltergeist with the light-blue hair and pink uniform called Merlin, tackles her way through Lyrica to get up front, then stares at S-Yuyuko in awe and after gasping with admiration, she asks "how did you do it!? How did you manage to achieve this!?"

S-Yuyuko holds the urge to shout at them; to make them go away from her as she forces a most disturbing smile, then says "it was the sun, dear. You should get more sun too."

Lunasa curiously asks "but I though ghosts weren't affected by sunlight at all. At least... not like that."

S-Yuyuko covers her disturbing fake smile behind her fan and glares at the three sisters, and in a dark undertone, she says "I am the princess of the Netherworld, am I not?"

The three girls back away, then quietly nod while staring with fright toward the glaring princess.

S-Yuyuko notices their fear and smiles for real, then says "then there you have it. I am a special case."

Youmu is already by the gates of the Netherworld, and sounding tired she says "Yuyuko-sama~ Please, let's go. I left some rice cooking for you."

S-Yuyuko turns her attention to Youmu and says "hmm... You should use a different tone, young lady, but I'll let it slide. Let's go then."

Youmu holds the door open as S-Yuyuko goes through, and before she enters Lyrica approaches her and whispers "hey, keep your eyes open. That doesn't seem like the real Yuyuko to us."

Youmu confidently says "what? You three should be careful with what you say. That is, without a doubt, Yuyuko-sama."

Lyrica whispers "look, if anything happens you tell us immediately, ok?"

Youmu stares confused at the concerned poltergeists, but smiles and says a reassuring "everything will be just fine. You'll see."

Youmu enters the gates to the Netherworld, leaving behind 3, very concerned spirits.

Lunasa looks at Merlin and says "maybe we imagined it?"

Merlin shrugs, and as soon as Lyrica joins her two sisters, she looks seriously at them and says "I don't like this. I have a terrible feeling about this."

From the distance, watching in silence, hidden by the clouds, Yukari says to herself "hmm. Is that really you, Yuyuko? I better have a look around myself."

She enters her gap and immediately disappears from the scene without ever being noticed.

-

Mid day at the Hakurei Shrine.

Ail, Kogasa and Sanae arrive right in the middle of a lunchtime battle.

Ail is right between Sanae and Kogasa, and the second they land he wraps his arms around their necks and pushes both down along with himself, shouting "look out!!!"

A couple of plates fly past their heads and one crashes on the floor while the other reaches the trees and breaks against them.

From inside, Reimu shouts "Maribel, use the CHARM!"

Maribel replies "but she's moving too much!"

Rika adds "my lady, it's not working!"

Mima laughs and says "ghost 5, humans ZERO~!"

Reimu shouts "could you shut up and help already!?"

Mima replies "I'll help if you make another peach pie."

Reimu shouts "I can't. She ATE the last one!"

Ail, Sanae and Kogasa look at each other, then Ail says "I'm going in."

Sanae kisses his cheek and says "good luck."

Kogasa sweats and says "been nice knowing ya."

There is a pause inside, and Yuyuko whimsically asks "on my~ Aren't you tired yet?"

Ail springs to his feet and runs inside the shrine. Almost immediately, danmaku starts flying out the door and some light explosions are heard from inside, then Ail yelps and everything settles down.

Sanae springs up to her feet and shouts "Ail, what happened!?" as she runs inside the shrine.

There is only silence, and after waiting for a while, Kogasa finally gets up and decides to look inside.

She gets surprised when she sees Sanae standing next to Reimu and looking grim toward Ail, who is being held by Yuyuko as if he were her child and brushing his hair with her fingers.

Maribel and Rika lie on the floor, looking exhausted and a little burned.

Mima floats above everyone with a big smirk on her face, and seems Reimu is staring daggers at the spirit.

Kogasa finally asks "what happened?"

Reimu takes a breath and says "that ghost princess almost ate all our lunches. Thank goodness you guys came when you did. Ail should keep her entertained while the rest of us eat."

In a defeated tone of voice, Ail smiles sheepishly and says "go ahead, don't mind me."

Sanae gets face to face with Ail and says "you BETTER behave, mister!"

Ail sweats and asks "what's the matter?"

Sanae replies "just behave and don't even THINK anything dirty, you hear?"

Ail trembles and asks "what are you talking about?" while Yuyuko simply continues to brush Ail's hair with her fingers, seemingly falling asleep.

Kogasa face palms and says to herself "what a thick head."

-

After finally eating what was left of lunch in peace, Reimu, Rika, Maribel and Mima clap their hands together and bow to the empty plates, saying "thank you for this blessed meal."

Reimu adds "and for sending such great decoy so we could actually eat in peace."

Shortly after the prayer, one of Yukari's gaps opens right behind Reimu, who quickly gets annoyed and asks "what do you want now?"

From inside the gap Yukari says in a serious tone "so Yuyuko is here after all. This is bad."

Yukari pops her head from the gap, holding her open fan up to her eyes, then Reimu, sounding worried says "you found her shadow."

Yuyuko stares with narrow eyes toward Yukari and Reimu, then says "worse. Youmu found her and hasn't figured it out. They are in the Netherworld right now."

Still holding Ail, Yuyuko says "shall we, then?"

Reimu immediately says "I'm coming with you. I want to see this done personally."

Yukari hovers in front of Reimu while still inside her gap, then stares into her eyes and says "you will be more useful over here."

Yuyuko lets go of Ail and quickly stands up and says "the Netherworld is under my jurisdiction. Please let me handle its affairs miss maiden."

Reimu stares back at Yuyuko for some time, then bows her head and in a soft tone she says "if you need any help at all, feel free to contact me."

Ail adds "or me!"

Yuyuko smiles and bows at them while saying "that won't be necessary, but I will keep your offer in mind. Let's go, Yukari."

Yukari points her hand to her left, but nothing happens. She opens her eyes wide and tries again, but nothing.

Strictly, she says "Ail, open a gap to the Netherworld!"

Without question, Ail tries opening a gap, but nothing happens.

He stares toward where he was hoping to open the gap and asks "what's going on?"

Yuyuko's smile vanishes as she says "that usurper is trying to take over already."

Yukari says "we better hurry to the gates, then."

Yuyuko nods with a serious look on her face, then turns to Reimu, Rika and the others, bows, then says "thank you for your hospitality."

Reimu quickly replies "good luck."

Ail suddenly says "Yukari, there could be another reason our gaps aren't working."

Reimu nods at Ail, then Yukari stares at them seriously and says "then we'll be taking care of two shadows, instead of just one."

-

Meanwhile at Hakugyokurou, Youmu is serving S-Yuyuko the lunch she had prepared.

She notices how her mistress is unusually quiet while waiting for her meal to be served. Youmu feels a bit uneasy because of the silence, and tries to liven things up, saying "here you go, Yuyuko-sama. Please enjoy."

S-Yuyuko looks at her meal with grimace, and noticing this, Youmu asks "is something wrong?"

S-Yuyuko bluntly replies "this food looks disgusting... and the smell. What did you use to cook THIS? Bird droppings? Dirt, perhaps?"

Youmu gets a little angry, but tries to suppress it as she says "well, if that's how it's going to be, you can cook your own meals from now on."

S-Yuyuko's eyes glow sky blue, and in an instant, a thick bright beam strikes Youmu on the chest, sending her flying toward the kitchen, breaking a wall and some chairs.

S-Yuyuko gets up and in a reprehensive tone she shouts "how DARE you, a mere slave, talk to me like that!? Now CLEAN this place up before I am done with this sad excuse for a meal you have prepared, unless you want more punishment!"

Youmu slowly stands up while her ghost half rapidly flies around her.

She grabs one of her swords and says "the Prismrivers were right, you are not Yuyuko!"

Youmu unsheathes Roukanken, her long Japanese sword, said to be able to cut 10 ghosts in one swing, and holding it with both hands she points it at S-Yuyuko.

The shadow laughs while holding her closed fan on her chest, then looks at Youmu and says "you think you can defeat me? Darling, there's a reason why I'm the master, and you... a mere servant."

Youmu defiantly says "you are NOT my master, and I am going to have to show you my true power!"

Youmu moves so fast, it doesn't even look like she's moved at all, now standing right behind S-Yuyuko.

She smiles confidently as the shadow's upper body is separated from her lower body, but her smile quickly vanishes when the shadow disappears from view and she realizes Hakurouken, her short Japanese sword, which is able to cut through a person's own confusion, is missing from its sheath.

Youmu sweats and turns around to see S-Yuyuko holding her ghost half and pointing the sword at it.

The spirit tries desperately to wiggle its way out, but it can't budge an inch.

S-Yuyuko smiles and says "I'm going to show you a little trick. Now, I do hope that after this, you'll show a little more respect to your mistress, slave!"

From outside the Hakugyokurou Shrine, a bright light blue light shines through all the windows and the door, and then silence.

-

At the Moriya Shrine, Kanako sits next to the kotatsu at the living room, handling her mirror in broad daylight while Suwako plays with Budou and Phredia near the lake.

She growls softly and says "come on, you piece of... Rah! This is taking too long... wait, wait..."

The sounds of women moaning comes from the mirror, making Kanako smile and shout "FINALLY!!! Now all I have to do is... wait, if I show this to Sanae just like this..."

From the door, Suwako continues for her "she'll KNOW you've been messing with it. Are you still on about that? You should leave them alone already."

Kanako snaps back "why don't you just go back to the lake?"

Suwako looks at Kanako with worry in her eyes and walks toward her, kneeling by the kotatsu as she says "Kanako, please stop this. You'll be very sorry of you keep this up!"

Kanako places her mirror back on her chest and says "you heard what that woman said."

Suwako shouts "that was Ail's shadow, you idiot!"

Kanako, sounding a little crazed, replies "it doesn't matter. He's a threat to her, and eventually to us. What do you think will happen if Sanae leaves us!?"

Suwako replies "it'd be no different either way. Has it ever crossed your mind that showing that to her might make her hate YOU instead? She'd leave us, Kanako, in the worst possible way. She'd hate us; lose her faith in us!"

Kanako shouts "what do you know!? Just back away like you said you would and let ME handle this. After this, we'll have out Sanae back and A--"

Suwako places her open hand in the air right in front of Kanako and whispers "fine, just keep it quiet. You might hurt someone that's not even involved..."

Just outside, Budou and Phredia stand next to the door.

Budou looks at Phredia and whispers "what do you think they are talking about?"

Phredia shrugs and lightly shakes her head. Budou sighs and whispers "I guess it has to be adult stuff, huh. Better not bother them."

Phredia excitedly nods, then she and Budou fly back to the lake, and while Budou lands on one of the large logs and shouts "come on Phredia. Come and get me!"

Phredia looks worriedly toward the sky, quickly recomposing herself after Budou calls for her again.

-

Yuyuko and Yukari hover next to the large gates to the Netherworld, and slowly, Yuyuko approaches the large door and waves her hand at it, making it open just slightly, but enough for her and Yukari to go through.

Yukari says "let's do this quick. I'm feeling strangely uneasy about something."

Seriously, Yuyuko looks back at Yukari and says "you felt it too, as expected. I'm a little more worried about Youmu, so if you don't mind..."

Yukari floats toward her friend, saying "of course, let's go."

Immediately after entering, Yuyuko says "it's too lively."

Yukari growls quietly toward the direction to Hakugyokurou, then Yuyuko says "Youmu. I can't feel her presence anywhere. I feel far less spirits in here than what should be."

Yukari asks "the power of revival?"

Yukari gets out of her gap in order to walk beside Yuyuko as they head straight to the stairs leading to the Netherworld's shrine.

When the bottom of the stairs come into view, Yuyuko gasps and says "Youmu!" and runs straight toward the fallen swordswoman.

Yukari gets close to Yuyuko and Youmu just as Yuyuko lifts Youmu, helping her sit up.

Somehow, Youmu seems older, taller, and she's having a lot of trouble breathing.

She slowly opens her eyes and out of breath, she manages to say "Yuyu... sama... My Yuyu... sama."

Yuyuko wraps her arms around Youmu saying "shh, shh, it's alright. Save your strength. I'm here now."

Youmu struggles to breath and manages to say "shadow... power... undead."

Youmu starts to contort and writhe, holding the left side of her chest tightly while clenching her teeth.

Yuyuko asks "Youmu, what's wrong!?"

She looks at Youmu thinking she would find a wound, but finds nothing of the sort.

She looks at Yukari and looking a bit sad she asks "what's wrong with her, Yukari?"

Yukari hides her mouth under her fan as she looks at the long stairs of the Netherworld without blinking.

Yuyuko's eyes glow red for a second when she looks to where Yukari is looking towards to, spotting her shadow who's holding Youmu's ghost half.

The usually large and round spirit now has the same shape as Youmu's slightly grown body, and on the right side of her abdomen is Hakurouken, going right through her ghostly body, while S-Yuyuko holds Roukanken as it goes right through the left side of the ghost's chest.

Yuyuko manages to slowly drag Youmu and sits her against a tree, whispering "you rest, Youmu. Let me handle this usurper." then gets up and walks next to Yukari, facing the shadow up the stairs.

S-Yuyuko shouts "welcome, old princess of the Netherworld." then moves the long blade left and right while it's still going through the ghost's body, making both Youmu and her ghost writhe in pain.

Youmu is so out of breath she can no longer scream, even though she really wants to.

Yuyuko's eyes glow red again as she says "you have two choices now. Give up, or die a horrific death."

S-Yuyuko quietly smirks while staring straight back at Yuyuko.

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu and Ail feel a bit sore after being left behind, so Rika, Sanae, Kogasa and Maribel are trying to come up with ways to cheer them up.

Meanwhile, Mima floats above the storage house, pacing left and right.

Quickly, she turns her attention farther ahead of the shrine's lake and starts to tremble.

She hugs herself while shivering, then says "brrr, suddenly feel so cold. I wonder what does this mean?"

At the Netherworld, S-Yuyuko lets go of Roukanken and raises her right hand and shouts "be amazed by the amazing powers I possess!"

The clouds above her split apart, letting light from the sun shine through, and all the spirits in the area that are touched by the light mutate by sprouting arms, legs, growing a misshapen torso, hollow eyes and a mouth.

At Hell's Courtroom, just after Shikieiki passes judgment on another spirit, she gasps and says "wha-what the hell is this? The Netherworld... the Hakurei Shrine!"

She closes her eyes and thinks for a moment, and after opening her eyes again she shouts "Komachi~! We need to move!"

Back at the Netherworld Yuyuko gasps and shouts "what's going on here? Those spirits... they are still dead, but alive?"

Yukari glares at S-Yuyuko and says "you are disturbing a great balance. Why are you doing this!?"

S-Yuyuko abruptly stops, lowering her arm and pointing it back at Yukari, staring back at with an evil smile, then shouts "revenge on those who caused me so much pain while I was alive... while SHE... was alive."

S-Yuyuko points back at Yuyuko, then grabs Roukanken again, making Youmu and Youmu's ghost half twitch, forcing Yuyuko to stop herself from attacking.

Yukari looks at the shadow curiously as S-Yuyuko continues "those that shunned me will become my undead servants. I will make their undead lives a misery! The Saigyou will become a CURSED NAME! They will pay for-"

S-Yuyuko continues to talk, but no sound comes from her voice, as Yukari has opened a gap right inside her throat, preventing her from saying any more.

For a moment, Yuyuko thinks she remembers something, so Yukari says "she's a shadow, Yuyuko. Your shadow! Don't let her distract you!"

Yuyuko shakes her head and says "r-right. Don't know what happened there. Let's just save Youmu first!"

Yukari nods as she stares at the shadow and says "agreed!"

Realizing the two youkai are about to ambush her, S-Yuyuko menacingly grabs Hakurouken while holding tightly to Youmu's ghost half, making both Yuyuko and Yukari stop their attack attempt, then quickly flies away, back to Hakugyokurou.

After giving her some space, both Yukari and Yuyuko follow.

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Mima is on edge, flying in circles above the shrine, repeating "Reimu, this is bad, this is very bad. They are coming Reimu. This is bad, so very bad. I can't stop. So bad, I don't like it."

Ail and Reimu stand by the shrine's gate, staring at Mima as she continues to go on and on about something bad.

Ail comments "she's been at it for an hour."

Reimu casually replies "maybe it's that time of the month for her."

From the left side of the shrine, Rika is shouting "miss Mima, please come down already!"

Sanae and Maribel come out of the shrine and casually walk toward Ail and Reimu, then join them in staring at Mima, who ignores Rika and continues to fly in circles above the shrine, repeating "Reimu, this is so very bad. They are coming this way. This is so bad!"

From behind the onlookers a woman shouts "what are you doing just standing there!? Don't you know this is an emergency!? GET READY YOU FOOLS!"

All 4 onlookers turn around quite surprised to find Shikieiki standing by the shrine's gate, looking grimly at them.

Reimu casually asks "miss yama? What are you doing here?"

Shiki storms toward Reimu and strikes her head with her golden sword while angrily saying "honestly, of all the people here, YOU should have been the first one to notice!"

Ail casually says "whoa, Reimu's being scolded!"

Shiki strikes him hard with her sword and angrily says "you should have noticed by now as well!"

While rubbing her head, Reimu asks "geez, what's going on today?"

Mima shouts "they're HERE!!!" then flies toward the lake and starts shooting red and yellow beams toward the ground.

Reimu shouts "wah! She's totally lost it!"

Shikieiki looks grimly toward the back of the shrine and says "look alive! Don't let them bite you!"

Reimu and the others continue to stare at Shikieiki as she shouts "Komachi, take the front!"

Komachi zips past everyone, coming from behind them, and continues her way to the lake. Reimu shouts "Shikieiki Yamaxanadu, what the HELL is going on!!?"

Rika comes running straight at Reimu, looking dreadfully saddened.

She stands in front of her mistress, holding her hands clapped together in front of her chest and says "those poor creatures. My lady, they are in pain. Do something, my lady!"

Kogasa comes running from the lake, looking as scared as s lost child, then heads straight to Sanae, giving her a hug as she trembles and says "n-n-nee-sama~! Monsters!"

Maribel shouts "look, by the trees!"

Emerging from behind the bushes and the trees are many skeletons and decaying bodies or humans and youkai known to be dead already.

All gasp in horror, Maribel and Sanae covering their mouths as the undead creatures slowly approach them.

The smell of those bodies that are still decaying is enough to make anyone want to run away, but they all stand their ground as Shikieiki says "someone's creating an army of undead spirits back at the Netherworld. Whoever's doing this is reanimating their former bodies as well. This is serious. You could get seriously ill if any of these creatures wound you. Don't give them the chance!"

Reimu's yin-yang orbs suddenly appears out of nowhere and hover beside her as she bravely says "simple. We fly and blast them."

Shiki chuckles and says "it's not going to be that easy. We need to contain them until the incident at the Netherworld is resolved. They can't die, Reimu. All we can do is stall them."

Reimu looks grimly at the undead creatures and says "these shadows cause more trouble than it's worth."

Ail looks to the ground and quietly sighs. He knows these incidents are his own fault for foolishly opening a gap to the shadow realm.

Now, he feels it's his own responsibility to deal with all this, so without question he rushes toward the creatures, showering them with danmaku as he flies by, joining Komachi and Mima.

-

Back at the Netherworld, Yukari and Yuyuko fly their way up the long stairs to Hakugyokurou, when Yukari suddenly says "ara, ara~" and points to the left.

About 50 misshapen spirits limp toward the two youkai, waving their arms in the air.

Yuyuko sadly says "they are in so much pain. It's as if they are reliving their deaths over and over. Yukari, we have to hurry."

Sunlight starts shining through the usually dark skies of the Netherworld, then Yukari says "STOP!"

Yukari abruptly stops and grabs hold of the back of Yuyuko's kimono.

Yuyuko asks "Yukari, what's wrong?"

Yukari flicks her finger in front of them, revealing an invisible wall and says "ara~ We're trapped."

Yuyuko says "you're starting to sound like an old grandmother."

Yukari glares at Yuyuko for a moment, then looks to her right.

There, inside a gap, just like her own, only with life-like eyeballs everywhere inside the gap, is her shadow. She looks exactly like Yukari herself, only she doesn't have eyes, or eye-sockets.

She smirks and says "you will leave my friend alone."

Yukari continues to glare at her shadow, then S-Yukari says "don't think I'm blind at all. I can see you as clear as daylight."

Yukari whispers "the gap..."

S-Yukari smiles and says "that's right. With this I can see everything. Much more useful than two simple eyes on the head."

Yukari turns to Yuyuko and sounding nervous she says "Yuyuko, let me handle your shadow. You take care of my own."

Yuyuko says "but Yukari, that usurper has taken over my home and my life. I have to be the one to deal with her."

Yukari grabs her friend by her shoulders and says "Yuyuko, I would never go against your wishes, but there is something too dangerous about your shadow. Please let me take care of her. I'm doing this for you, Yuyuko. Allow me this honor."

Yuyuko stares back at Yukari for a moment, then smiles that usual whimsical smile of hers as she says "alright then. But if you fail me, you'll have to buy me breakfast, lunch and dinner for 100 years, you hear?"

Yukari hugs Yuyuko and chuckles, then says "it's a deal. I'll see you later then."

Yukari floats backward, away from Yuyuko and toward the invisible wall. She easily opens a gap that allows her to go right through the wall, then turns around and continues her way up the stairs.

S-Yukari stares awestruck and shouts "he-hey! How did she do that!?"

Yuyuko chuckles as she opens one fan on each hand, and posing in an elegant manner, as if ready to begin dancing, she says "you are a mere shadow. My friend would never be overpowered by someone as weak as you."

These words enrage S-Yukari, so she opens two more gaps and through them, various lilac beams fly straight at Yuyuko, who starts to dance and use her fans to bounce back each and every beam back at the shadow, making her shriek.

Yuyuko smiles and says "so weak. If you were the real Yukari, I'd really be in trouble."

S-Yukari's face turns blue as Yuyuko smiles a whimsically and wickedly at her.

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Ail is overexerting himself, trying to take on every single undead creature by himself.

He's already managed to capture 50 of them on his own, while Mima, Kogasa, Sanae and Reimu have managed to defeat a combination of at least 60 of the creatures, sending them all into a void opened by Ail.

Sanae shouts "Ail, you are going to get hurt if you keep that pace up!"

Reimu adds "relax, you idiot! There's only a few left!"

Ail pants and says "I'll rest when we're done!"

From above, a barrage of pink and red hearts fly just above Ail's head, blasting a few decaying bodies that were just behind him.

Ail looks up to Maribel and pants as he says "thanks *pant* Mari *pant* bel."

He opens a gap under the mangled bodies and sends them inside the void.

Shikieiki shouts "Reimu, there are three more! These are very dangerous so be EXTRA careful! Ail, get inside the shrine, NOW!"

Ail falls sitting on the ground, gasping for air, then says "ju-just a second... Let me..."

From the lake, Mima screams "Reimu help~!" and Komachi is blasted away toward Shikieiki, screaming "kyan~~ These guys are too much!!!"

Shiki flies up and intercepts Komachi who says "Shiki-sama, they are stronger than we though!"

Sanae and Reimu exclaim "what!?" at the same time.

Three decaying bodies, two men and one woman, come flying from the lake, all three burning under the sunlight as they flap their vampire wings and hiss at the humans by the shrine, showing long, sharp and dirty fangs.

Reimu shouts "oh my... those are the villagers Remilia's shadow bit."

The two men go after Maribel and Sanae, while the woman heads straight to the exhausted Ail, who is unable to even move due to his exhaustion.

Shiki assists Maribel by pushing back the decaying vampire wither sword, and Reimu and Rika assist Sanae by generating a powerful magical field that traps the creature inside, allowing the sun to finish it off, just not fast enough.

After realizing Ail is still not moving, and nobody is assisting him, Sanae shouts "Ail! Someone help him!"

The decaying creature grabs Ail by his shoulders, opening her mouth wide and ready to bite down hard on his neck, but stops when Ail manages to get a good look and weakly asks "Mirida... is that you?"

The creature stops and stares at Ail for a moment. She sniffs him, then lets him fall on the ground and flies away toward the Moriya Shrine.

Right after that, the two decaying vampires succumb to the light of the sun and turn into ashes, and as soon as this happens and Shikieiki traps the ashes inside a glass bottle, Sanae rushes to Ail, asking "what happened?"

Ail suddenly feels a burst of energy coursing though him as his bracelet shows him a picture of Budou after the usual droplet sound.

Ail gasps and shouts "she's after Budou!!!" and rushes to the air, matching Aya's speed.

Sanae gasps and follows after him, shouting "wait! Wait for me, Ail!"

After the two leave Kogasa runs toward Reimu, and Shikieiki shouts "wait! Wait up you two! Dammit!"

Rika stares at Shikieiki as she descends along with her mistress, then suddenly gasps, covering her mouth with her hands and then points at the yama.

Concerned, Reimu asks "what, What is it!?"

Rika exclaims "that's the lady that said it wasn't my time. Back when I was younger!"

Shiki looks at Rika as Komachi walks to her side, then says "miss Rika, now is not the time. There are more creatures like those around. We need to make sure they don't attack any innocents."

Rika salutes Shiki and says "right!" then Reimu says "*sigh* it's never that easy, is it?"

-

At the stairs in the Netherworld, trapped inside an invisible dome, Yuyuko has S-Yukari pinned down by her own attacks, bouncing every single beam, kunai and orb back at the shadow with little to no effort from her part.

Yuyuko stops twirling in place, covering half of her face behind her left-hand fan and says "why don't you let me finish you off already. It would save both you and me a lot of trouble and time."

S-Yukari growls while the eyes inside her gap glare angrily at Yuyuko.

She manages to relax, then smiles and says "I better stop fooling around. Time to use my power to its fullest."

Yuyuko thinks "she's bluffing. She's so weak even moving a finger is a task for her."

S-Yukari opens 5 more gaps that expand all around Yuyuko until the invisible dome looks like a giant dome with floating eyeballs all over.

The eyeless shadow smiles and says "hope you are impressed, princess. In here, my power triples. After I destroy you, I'll go back to my friend and deal with that other me! Hey, maybe I'll even get a nice pair of eyes on my already pretty face after we kill her."

Yuyuko smirks, her eyes glow red, then she says "you poor deluded weakling. Even in here, I am far more powerful than you are."

S-Yukari clenches her fists and says "you won't be saying that when I'm through with you!"

At Hakugyokurou, S-Yuyuko grabs Youmu's ghost half using the swords as handles for her, and in a violent thrust she traps her against a wall, then smiles and holds the spirit's chin and says "if you want the pain to go away, swear your loyalty to me."

Slowly, Youmu's ghost moves her head left and right, making S-Yuyuko angrily push the swords a little further into the wall.

She walks back outside and stops to look at Youmu's ghost, then says "while I deal with that woman, you think about my proposal. Though, you only have one choice." then calmly walks outside, where Yukari is waiting for her.

Yukari stares seriously at the shadow and asks "is that how you treat your friends?"

S-Yuyuko replies "she's supposed to be my guardian and servant... and... she attacked me. I will NOT tolerate betrayal!"

Yukari teasingly says "don't you mean disappointment?"

S-Yuyuko's eyes glow sky blue, making more clouds disperse and letting more sunlight shine through, reviving more and more of the land.

Yukari says "you should stop that. You are messing with a very delicate balance, and you'll be sorry for it."

S-Yuyuko snaps back "what do you even know!?"

Yukari opens her fan, covering her mouth as she glares straight at S-Yuyuko.

-

At the Moriya Shrine, Kanako is still thinking of a way to present her mirror to Sanae without looking too suspicious.

Just then, Ail lands hard on the shrine's courtyard and immediately shouts in despair "where's Budou!!?"

Startled, Kanako is unable to answer quickly enough, and after Sanae lands right next to Ail, Budou's shriek echoes from the lake.

Ail shouts "NO! BUDOU!" and flies away so fast he causes a heavy backlash that sends both Sanae and Kanako flying away.

Suwako jumps from inside the shrine and says "I'm helping too!" and flies straight toward the lake after Ail.

At the lake, Budou jumps from log to log, turns around and shoots many zigzagging lasers while Phredia fires bright yellow orbs that increase in size the farther they fly.

The undead vampire shrieks after taking the bullets on, however she continues the chase after brushing off the smoke from the danmaku blasts. Budou cries "someone save us *sob sob*"

Budou jumps to another log, but trips when she lands, giving the creature the chance to strike.

She's just inches away from her prey when a thick white beam strikes her head.

Ail desperately shouts "YOU KEEP AWAY FROM HER!!"

Budou excitedly flaps her wings and says "papa~!" then springs up and flies straight to Ail, clinging on and sobbing as he hugs her back, softly saying "it's ok, I'm here."

Suwako jumps right next to Ail and points up to the sky, saying "it's not over. Look!"

Ail looks up and says "what the... She's not affected by sunlight?"

Suwako says "Budou, get inside the shrine and use the amulets like I showed you on Sanae's room. Hurry!"

Budou lets go of Ail, then she and Phredia run back to the shrine.

Suwako smirks at Ail and says "you sure you can handle this, little man?"

Ail smirks back and says "I'm still young, I can manage."

Suwako continues to smirk as she turns her attention to the undead vampire and says "watch your mouth young human."

Ail surrounds his hands with blue energy and says "alright, I'll buy you lunch when this is over, then call it even."

As they both jump to the sky to face the creature, Suwako replies "you got yourself a deal!"

Meanwhile, down by the shrine's entrance, Kanako watches as Budou enters the shrine to hide while Suwako and Ail face off against the creature. She thinks "yes, this is it. The chance I was looking for. Now all I have to do is let Sanae see me doing this and..."

Kanako takes the mirror off her chest and points it at Ail as it turns into a ball of light-blue light.

Sanae sees her and asks "lady Yasaka, what are you doing in a time like this!? You should be helping him!"

As the mirror reaches and gets inside Ail's heart, Kanako says "I am helping. My mirror will give him a little more energy, and it will help me see into his heart when it comes back."

Sanae stares suspiciously at Kanako, then asks "s... so you finally want to get to know him better, I see?"

Kanako smiles, hiding her true wicked intentions, then says "yes, Sanae... I really want to get to know him better."

-

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN –Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou and Phredia were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot 2010

JAN 8 2010

written by

Willie G.R.


	27. Chapter 26

He opened the gap to the shadow realm; he created a ravenous monster that ate his friends and created shadows of them; the shadows were hunted down like animals, even though all they wanted was a soul; thanks to the shadows, three villagers died, and now he finds himself trying to kill one of those villagers yet again, for the lives of those dear to him.

Ail's heart grows heavier with every passing moment, making it harder and harder to fight off the undead vampire-like creature that once was the female villager known as Mirida.

Suwako can feel Ail's will slowly decreasing, his energy dropping faster than it should.

She tries to protect him from the creature's attacks, but every time she does Ail gets a boost of energy and protects HER from getting slashed or bitten.

Suwako realizes these boosts of energy are the guilt inside of him. By now Ail is blaming himself for everything that's happened around him.

Agava, Flandre, Tenshi, Iku, Meiling, Daiyousei... Sanae. His heart feels like it's full of lead, and every move he makes hurts him.

He thinks it's 'just' punishment for all he's caused, and pushes himself to endure.

Suwako, realizing what's happening to him, stares with an expression of fright.

She turns around and shouts "Kanako~! We need you here!"

To Ail, Suwako's voice sounds like a distant echo. Regardless, he continues to fight the creature, getting a piece of his shirt clawed off, the creature missing the skin on his shoulder by inches.

Suwako panics and decides to use a spell card.

"Party Start - Two Bows, Two Claps and One bow!"

Suwako fires 4 streams of beams that shape 3 red bows with a green string that successfully strike the creature, then Suwako claps her hand, sending a barrage of blue and white orbs of all sizes that blast the creature into the lake.

Suwako takes a deep breath of relief, then approaches Ail, who is just floating and staring blankly into the lake.

Suwako places her left hand on his right shoulder, and looking at him into his eyes she asks "Ail? Are you ok?"

The creature emerges from the water, growling angrily and hissing as its eyes glow blood red.

Suwako gasps and exclaims "it's impervious to water too!"

Ail frowns and prepares as spell, but he moves so slow, the creature is already dodging the laser, long before Ail can shoot it.

From the ground, a light-blue orb reaches Ail and enters his heart making him feel relieved and revitalized.

When he looks down and sees Kanako and Sanae, he smiles, then looks at Suwako and confidently says "sorry about that... I'm feeling better now."

Suwako smirks and says "finally! Young wiper snappers like you can be such a handful!"

Ail smiles and says "thank you, lady Moriya."

Suwako smiles back, then both rush toward the undead creature with confident smirks on their faces.

-

At the Human Village, Kyo, who still has his left leg completely bandaged, limps toward some tables full of food and drinks.

The village is celebrating the days of autumn and have invited Minoriko to the village.

Shizuha, of course, comes uninvited, but being Minoriko's sister, the villagers don't mind.

Kyo grabs some grapes and eats them all in one bite and from behind him, Minoriko says "wow, all in one bite."

Luna adds "well, he has the mouth for it."

Kyo turns around, looking annoyed, then says "well, sorry if I am hungry."

All three are quickly unsettled when some villagers near the town's center start screaming, accompanied by many crashing sounds and Keine and Medicine telling everyone to get back.

Luna immediately says to Kyo "you stay here!" then she and Minoriko run straight toward the source of the screaming.

A growling noise from the bushes gets Kyo's attention, and his face loses all its colors when, after some violent rustling, something comes toward him.

Frightened Kyo asks "what the hell?"

At the center of the festivities, tables lie on the ground along with the food and drinks that were meant to be enjoyed.

Shizuha is helping the elderly reach the school, where most of the villagers are hiding, while Medicine uses her poison to slow down 5 undead creatures headed their way, and Keine blasts them to bits, only to watch them restore themselves and continue their march.

Two of the creatures are beast youkai, while two more are apparently human, and the 5th one looks like a cloud of ashes that occasionally takes the shape of a human.

Luna and Minoriko arrive just as Shizuha discovers the undead corpse of a cat right next to her and the elderly woman she's helping.

She yelps in a panic, but protects the woman. The cat pounces, and all Shizuha can do is fire some danmaku at it in hopes to keep it away, but to no avail. She uses her arms as a shield as the cat is mere inches away from her, but is saved by a stream of red danmaku seeds.

Minoriko shouts "sis! Get moving!"

Shizuha notices her sister and shouts "thank you sis!"

Keine and Medicine regroup with Luna and Minoriko, then Luna asks "what happened!?"

Keine takes a few breaths and excitedly says "undead creatures came out of nowhere! We can't beat them!"

Luna smirks and says "guess it's time to get my swords. Can you handle things here while I return?"

Medicine nods as Keine says "sure."

Minoriko bravely says "I'll go check on the other villagers and help nee-san" then rushes toward the school. Luna smiles and says "I'll be back shortly."

-

Meanwhile, Renko is overseeing the construction of her and Maribel's new-new house, however, the commotion outside makes her and the 5 villagers run outside, curious as to what's going on.

Immediately after leaving the safety of the house, two undead birds, one a skeleton with a few feathers, and the other looking as though it's been dead for just a few days, swoop past her ear, missing her face by a mere cat's hair.

Renko looks around and asks "what was that?"

The female villagers shouts "get back inside!"

Renko looks behind her as the villagers signal her to run back inside the unfinished house, unaware of the two undead birds headed her way.

When she notices them, it's too late for her to do anything, but thankfully a pair of amulets cling on to the creatures, paralyzing them and making them fall on to the ground.

Renko sweats and drops to the floor on her knees and shouts "what's going on!?"

Reimu shouts "get BACK inside, Renko Usami! It's far too dangerous for you out here!"

Reimu, Komachi and Shikieiki run straight at Renko, who asks "what's happening? Where's Mary?"

Reimu says "There's been an incident in the Netherworld. It's creating undead creatures here. Don't let them bite you or..."

Renko finishes "I turn into one of them?"

Shiki face palms and says "where do you get ideas like that!?"

Renko stares curiously at Shiki, and Reimu stares curiously at Renko, so Komachi says "don't believe those myths that say 'if you get bitten by the undead, you turn undead yourself'. Those are just myths."

Reimu exclaims "err... anyway, Maribel is fine. Just keep those villagers safe from anymore of those undead creatures in the meantime!"

At Kyo and Luna's house, Luna exits the house, looking satisfied as she brandishes one of her swords and places it on its sheath on the left side of her belt, then pats the clips on her hair.

She closes the door and heads toward Keine and Medicine, then stops and thinks for a moment, gasps, then says "oh my gosh! I forgot about KYO!!!"

She runs as fast as her feet can take her as anxiety and fear take over her.

When she arrives at the table where she had left him she finds knocked tables and scattered food and drinks all over.

She looks around over and over again, but doesn't see Kyo anywhere.

Just as despair takes over her heart, she hears his voice strictly saying "stay! Stay~! Good boy!" followed by a loud and grotesque chomping sound.

When she looks ahead, she finds Kyo feeding meat to an undead dog that's half bones, and half decaying corpse.

The dog wags it's bony tail as the food it just ate falls right through his ribs and down to the ground.

Kyo looks at Luna and says "finally. What the hell's going on? This thing came growling at me and all I had to my defense was the food on the tables!"

Luna sigh with great relief and says "I'll explain on the way."

While all of this happens above ground, underground, at the Earth Spirit's Palace, Orin is walking around, minding her own business when suddenly, she twitches and starts saying "corpses... There are corpses!"

She jumps with a smile on her face and her hands in the air as she runs outside the palace and shouts "CORPSES~! I'm collecting CORPSES~!"

-

At the Netherworld, inside a dome made of 5 expanded gaps, Yuyuko smiles whimsically at Yukari's eyeless shadow.

The eyeballs in her gaps all scowl as the shadow says "the time for playing is over. You die now!"

Yuyuko lightly waves her left fan close to her face and says "oh my, did you say something? I swear, it makes it harder to understand you if you keep mumbling like that."

S-Yukari growls, her face turns red, the eyes in the gaps scowl, then she shouts "got to hell, princess!"

From all around Yuyuko, lilac beams, kunai and petals head straight to her as she quietly stares at the attack without moving a single finger.

Just as the first beam is about to touch her, she starts to twirl in place, then uses one of her fans to bounce the beam away toward some kunai, successfully knocking a large group of the knives, then with the left fan she bounces off three petals that successfully crash against more beams, making them veer off course and bounce back toward S-Yukari, who is unable to open a gap large enough to contain her own attacks and is struck hard by the beams, knocking her out of her own gap and down to the hard stairs, falling victim to gravity's pull and rolling all the way down to the gap-wall she made herself, managing to grab one of the steps just before touching said wall.

Yuyuko notices this effort to avoid the wall, and while dancing and deflecting bullets she says "looks to me like you don't want to touch your own wall. What would happen if you did touch it, I wonder?"

S-Yukari leaves her mouth open and the eyes in her gaps fill with terror as Yuyuko stops dancing and stares at her with a whimsical, yet deadly smile after sending the last three beams straight at the shadow.

Meanwhile, at Hakugyokurou's grounds, Yukari follows after S-Yuyuko as she calmly walks away from the shrine and toward an empty spot on the front courtyard.

She stops walking, so Yukari stops as well, then the shadow says "before we fight, hear me out, Yukari."

Yukari stares at the shadow and waits for what she has to say.

S-Yuyuko opens a fan and starts waving it in front of her face, then says "Yukari, it's me. Yuyuko Saigyou. I am back."

Yukari scoffs, but doesn't say a word.

S-Yuyuko continues "it doesn't have to be this way. All you have to do is help me kill that ghost of mine so I can revive this place. Make it what it should be."

Yukari asks "what about your vengeance plans?"

S-Yukari smiles wide and sounding crazed she says "yes, yes of course! I can never forgive the Saigyou! Calling me 'Yuyuko-hime' making it sound so... disgusting! Treating me like an outcast, avoiding me like a plague. I want to revive them... make them suffer... make them my ETERNAL slaves!"

Yukari giggles for a moment, then suddenly laughs hard.

S-Yuyuko growls and shouts "what the hell is so funny!?"

-

Yukari stops laughing and stares straight at S-Yuyuko as she says "your plan is flawed. You can't revive the Saigyou anymore. They've all passed on."

S-Yuyuko opens her eyes wide as her pupils shrink.

She gasps as she looks around with crazed eyes, then shouts "you are LYING!"

Yukari replies "fu fu fu! Am I? Tell me, is there a reason to lie about that?"

Sounding more crazed, S-Yuyuko says "yes... yes you're right! You are my trusted friend. You'd never lie to me! But then I can't have my revenge... This is not fair! How am I supposed to go on without getting back at those despicable monsters!?"

Yukari replies "it's more simple than you think. Just let me kill you now and it'll all be over."

S-Yuyuko stares at Yukari with a crazed, blank expression, then starts to chuckle, progressing to an insane cackle, then stops and looks dangerously at Yukari, saying "so... my friend. You rather be with that fake ghost of me, than the real me?"

Yukari asks "I thought that disturbing eyeless shadow was your friend."

S-Yuyuko opens a fan and places it across the left side of her face and says "you think I'd be friends with that... thing? No, she's just misguided. She thinks that by befriending me she'll be good enough to take your place. What a laugh. That ghost has probably done away with her by now anyway."

Yukari glares back, her eyes glowing a dangerous tone of purple as she says "the real Yuyuko was kind, forgiving, accepting... she was a very special human. You are just mocking her name, claiming to be her, you disgusting monster. I will never forgive you for that."

S-Yuyuko surrounds herself with sky-blue orbs as her eyes glow sky-blue as she glares back at Yukari, then says "if you won't accept me as your friend, then I guess I can take my revenge on YOU INSTEAD!!!"

S-Yuyuko extends her arms in the air and unleashes the orbs, sending light-blue beams along with them, all headed straight to Yukari.

The gap youkai stays in her gap, staring as the attack gets closer, then opens 8 black gaps that suck in every single beam and bullet, save for one which Yukari grabs with her bare hands, then tosses is to the air and catches it again, over and over, showing the shadow how she plays with the bullets being sent her way.

S-Yuyuko watches with horror as Yukari plays with that orb as if were her own and so, tries to run away, only to find an invisible barrier blocking her escape.

Yukari chuckles and says "you thought you'd be getting away from me so easily? You certainly don't know me that well."

Yukari stares back at the terrorized shadow, feeling great satisfaction and some remorse from the shadow's terrorized expression.

-

Down by the Netherworld's stairs, S-Yukari manages to avoid her own beams, then gets inside her gap, reappearing away from Yuyuko.

She takes a breath of relief and says "how is this even possible!? In here, my powers are triple! How can you be more powerful than me, when I am more powerful than my friend!?"

Yuyuko smiles as she says "it's simple. You only have a fraction of Yukari's power, while my own shadow has a fraction of MY power. When you think about it, you shadows are far weaker than us really. Now, be a good girl and stand still while I kill you."

Yuyuko turns her fan around, revealing a spell card on it, then says "Cherry Blossom Sign - Perfect Cherry Blossom of Sumizome -Getting Lost-"

A large fan-like seal spreads out behind Yuyuko, and from it, blue extra-large orbs fan out fast in straight lines, then Yuyuko unleashes various butterflies that fly in circles, then home in on the shadow, and afterwards pink shard-like danmaku petals shower on to S-Yukari.

The shadow, having so many eyes all around, notices many gaps and is able to dodge accordingly, however, Yuyuko realizes what's happening, so she claps the fans on her hands as hard as she can, creating a bright flash that blinds the shadow.

S-Yukari screams "kyah~! My eyes! I can't see!! It hurts, it hurts~!"

So many eyes, all lidless and always watching. The shadow can't bare the pain so she jumps out of her gap and closes them up, even the ones making the deadly barrier, rendering herself completely blind to all of Yuyuko's attacks.

Unable to dodge, the butterflies flock toward S-Yukari as some of the shards land on her body.

S-Yukari shouts "no~! I failed her. My friend, please forgive me!"

Shortly after the butterflies touch her body, S-Yukari's body progressively turns into a black silhouette, then spreads around like a mist.

Instead of celebrating the victory, Yuyuko can't help but feel some remorse as the look-alike body of her friend vanishes before her.

After the shadow's body completely disappears, Yuyuko fans herself with her left fan and says "the real Yukari would never fall as easily... as that. Oh well. Guess I'll never know what that wall did now."

After the invisible barrier shatters, Yuyuko thinks of going up and helping Yukari, however she finds Youmu lying on her face, next to where the barrier was on the stairs below.

Yuyuko sighs and floats down to her gardener, sitting beside her and promptly brushing Youmu's hair with her fingers.

Yuyuko asks "Youmu, didn't I tell you to rest?"

Out of breath, Youmu replies "I swore... I'd protect... Yuyuko."

Yuyuko sighs loudly and grabs hold of the grown Youmu, placing her head on her lap, then continues to brush the half-ghost's hair with her fingers, then says "you are one stubborn gardener. Right now, you are unfit to fight, so once again I order you to rest. Let me and Yukari handle this."

Youmu slightly moves her head left and right, then Yuyuko says "so stubborn. Tell you what. You let us handle this little incident while you rest, and when you are better again, you can cook me up a 6 course meal, is that ok?"

Youmu manages to smile, making Yuyuko smile whimsically as she giggles and says "alright, we have a deal. Now you rest while we fix this nasty little mess up."

Again, Yuyuko carries Youmu to a nearby tree and sits her under it.

As she stands up, she notices many disfigured spirits all walk slowly toward them, then Yuyuko says "oh my... guess I better start with you, then."

-

Back at Hakugyokurou, Yukari laughs as she continues to absorb each and every beam and orb sent her way by Yuyuko's shadow.

S-Yuyuko clenches her teeth and growls softly, but quickly turns her frown to a victory smile and kneels down, placing both her hands on the ground below her.

Confident, Yukari says "ara~, you're finally giving up. A wise choice."

Yukari raises her closed fan to chest height and points it at S-Yuyuko saying "I'll make it quick."

Yukari opens her eyes wide showing fright and surprise as 6 thick light-blue beams rise right from below herself.

While the beams distract Yukari, S-Yuyuko runs to the invisible barrier, desperately looking for a way out, saying to herself "that freak's barrier had a weakness... this one should have one too... A-ha!"

S-Yuyuko finds a thin opening in the large barrier and immediately starts blasting it with more light-blue beams, using as much power as she can.

Yukari sounds enraged when she shouts "you are going to PAY for that!"

The gap youkai watches as the shadow assaults the barrier, and sounding curious she shouts "what are you trying to do over there?"

S-Yuyuko pulls down on her left eye-lid and sticks out her tongue, and just after that, a large chunk of the barrier shatters right before her eyes.

Yukari looks awestruck as S-Yuyuko runs away toward the shrine, but she shakes the shock and chases after her.

Inside Hakugyokurou's living room Yukari is once again left in shock, this time at the sight of Youmu's ghost half, hanging from the wall by her own swords like a disturbing ornament.

Meanwhile, at the Netherworld's stairs, Yuyuko finishes up by invoking death on to a large group of misshapen spirits, one of them looking like a misshapen beast with two sticks for wing and balancing on three legs.

By now, the entire area has returned to normal, and the bright light of life that was shining in the skies is once again replaced by cool dark Netherworld clouds.

Yuyuko smiles and looks around, taking a sigh of accomplishment, then says "my, it took some doing, but we managed to fix this entire are. I must say..."

Yuyuko looks around with a most whimsical expression and finishes "it looks better than before. Don't you agree, Youmu?" There is no response at all.

Yuyuko gasps, though still looking whimsical as she walks to Youmu.

She kneels next to her gardener and places a hand on her forehead. Yuyuko's whimsical expression changes to a dangerous glare as her eyes glow red.

Sounding saddened, Yuyuko says "Youmu... You're dying."

Yuyuko looks up the long stairs and looking decided, she grabs Youmu and sets her up for a piggy-back ride.

She flies straight up the stair with Youmu on her back and says "don't worry Youmu, you won't die today. Look, the shrine is just there. Your other half is there as well. Let's go." No response.

Yuyuko's eyes glow red once more, and a single tear escapes her right eye.

-

Back at the Human Village, Orin is running around, laughing contently as she knocks the many undead creatures on to her wheelbarrow and shouting "corpses! Corpses EVERYWHERE, NYA-HAHAHAHAHA! You'll all do so NICELY for the furnaces! Uuu~ I can't WAIT!"

While she happily collects the undead corpses and somehow sets them inside the wheelbarrow, Reimu stares in disbelief along with Shikieiki and Komachi, then Shikieiki asks "Komachi, why can't you be as diligent as that cat over there?"

Komachi lets out a complaining sigh and says "Shiki-sama, I do my job well. I just don't think overexerting ourselves will accomplish anything. Just go with the flow."

Shiki smacks Komachi's head with her golden sword and says "this is what I'm talking about. It's alright to take things easy sometimes, but you are just being excessively lazy. If you keep this up you'll end up in hell, and your punishment will be severe. 100 daily laps around hell while carrying heavy luggage and new arrivals to hell, all on your back. However, if you repent now and start putting a little more effort in your work you might..."

Komachi cries "alright already, I get it. I'm sorry~!"

Reimu face palms and says "ugh! Why are these creatures still walking around? Shouldn't they be dropping like flies by now?"

She looks to her left, where Kogasa, Rika and Maribel try to subdue a pack of undead wild wolves, then to her right, where Luna, Medicine, Keine and Minoriko are doing their best to keep some human and youkai undead corpses from reaching the school.

Reimu notices how some start dropping on to the ground and stop moving.

She sighs with relief and says "I see. It's just a matter of time now."

Shikieiki walks next to Reimu and says "well then, if this matter is being resolved, Komachi and I should be headed back."

Reimu turns to Shiki and says "before you leave, tell me something. How is it that you and Mima were able to sense what was going on when I couldn't?"

Shiki smiles and says "simple. I deal with the dead every day, and miss Mima is an evil spirit. One that's overdue for her judgment"

Reimu stares at Shiki for a moment, then turns away and says "you're hiding something from me."

Shiki giggles and asks "what reason could there be for that?"

-

In the Hakugyokurou Shrine, Yukari is in a blind rage, shooting everywhere inside the shrine in hopes to either kill or kick out S-Yuyuko from the shrine.

The shadow runs through a doorway, but quickly has to throw herself on the ground in the corridor and roll away to dodge a shower of kunai, a barrage of lasers, and a couple purple fireballs, all headed straight at her with speed and power.

S-Yuyuko manages to find hiding spot behind a wall and shouts "Yu-Yukari, my old friend, what is the matter!?"

Yukari screams out loud "DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME YOUR FRIEND!"

She takes a deep breath, managing to calm down a little, then says "you are going to PAY for what you have done here!"

S-Yuyuko looks for a way out as she asks "what are you talking about!?"

Yukari clenches her teeth as a fiery rage fills her heart, but she manages to calm herself enough and says "you claim you want revenge on those that made your life a misery. WHAT ABOUT THE KONPAKU!? They were KIND to Yuyuko all the time!!"

S-Yuyuko replies "that girl is a disgrace to the name, trying to attack me after trying to poison me with horrible food! Punishment was dealt swiftly for her betrayal and her dishonor!"

While S-Yuyuko talks, Yukari manages to hold herself from throttling the shadow as she spewed such foolish words and quietly heads toward Youmu's ghost half in order to free her from the wall, but S-Yuyuko peeks from the wall corner and fires various orbs at the ghost herself, so Yukari has to use her own body as a shield; being so angry, she can't think straight and can't open her gaps accordingly.

Yukari dusts off the blasts and says "I have had ENOUGH of you! You are disgracing the name of a dear friend and treat others as if they owe you. Well let me tell you something... 'PRINCESS'... you are a shadow. A mere excuse of an existence far greater than you can ever hope reach! In the name of my friend, Yuyuko Saigyouji, I will erase you from this existence!"

From the shine's entrance, Yuyuko shouts "Yukari, Youmu is-"

The moment Yuyuko enters the living room, the first thing she sees is Youmu's half-revived ghost on the wall and S-Yuyuko hiding behind a wall.

Her eyes glow an intense scarlet, and without hesitation she raises both hands and says "Yukari, protect Youmu!"

Yukari opens a barrier in front of herself and Youmu's ghost just as Yuyuko unleashes a wide pink beam that has countless death butterflies flying all around it, unaware that Youmu has fallen from her back.

Somehow, S-Yuyuko manages to jump away from the beam and butterflies at the very last moment, dropping on the floor on her face and whimpering as she trembles and holds her head in fear.

The second the beam stops, S-Yuyuko raises her head and spots the Saigyou Ayakashi, the sealed youkai cherry tree, and smiles with hope in her eyes.

While Yuyuko recovers from using so much firepower, S-Yuyuko springs to her feet and runs as fast as her trembling feet can carry her, heading straight toward the youkai tree through the hole made by Yuyuko's beam.

Inside the shrine, Yuyuko, who's eyes still glow red, asks Yukari "want some help?"

Yukari smirks and says "this has become personal. Please, you take care of Youmu and the Netherworld, and let me handle this cretin."

-

At the Moriya Shrine, Ail is at his ropes as the undead vampire continues her relentless attacks, even though both he and Suwako have done all they can to send her into the void, while Kanako protects the shrine, preventing the vampire from entering and going after Budou.

Every time Ail and Suwako have her, her power increases allowing to escape.

Exhausted, Ail shouts "she's after Budou! Why is she after Budou!?"

The vampire rushes right through him, but Ail is so exhausted all he does is spin in the air after she passes by him.

She heads straight toward the shrine, but Kanako manages to summon enough longs to create a wall again, then Sanae shoots a red star that constantly damages the creature's body, making it back away.

Suwako takes her chance and unleashes a rain of light-green shard danmaku on the creature that weakens it enough for Ail to open one last gap underneath it, trapping her in the void.

Exhausted, Ail floats down to the ground and drops on his knees, almost falling asleep the second he touches the ground, but Sanae jumps on him and hugs his neck tight, cutting his air and waking him up effectively, but still knocking him out due to lack of oxygen.

While she fans him with her gohei, saying "Ail~ wake up~." Suwako approaches Kanako and asks "are you really going though with this?"

Kanako says "I have to, and you know it."

Suwako lowers her hat to cover her eyes and sounding saddened she says "then be ready for what comes afterward."

Kanako wants to reply something to Suwako, but an unsettling sound of ripping matter and electric buzzing coming from where Mirida had been trapped turns everyone's attention to that spot.

In mid-air a pair of claws rip through Ail's gap and the undead vampire opens the gap widely enough for her to escape through, and immediately heads straight toward the shrine just as the gap closes behind her.

Kanako and Suwako manage to shake off the shock, but the vampire moves too fast and knocks them out of the way before either one can attack.

Sanae lets go of Ail and shout "BUDOU!" then runs to the shrine after Kanako and Suwako.

Ail gasps for air as he gets up, only managing to take one step and fall on his face to the ground.

Before blacking out, all he can say is "dammit... too tired."

Inside the shrine, Sanae is shocked when she finds the two goddesses standing still, looking toward Sanae's own room.

Walking further in, Sanae finds Mirida kneeling in front of Budou and Phredia while inside the room.

Budou says "I see... I see. You can count on me. I'll give them your message... What's that? Oh, I'll let them know you meant no harm."

Sanae asks "what's going on?"

Phredia's hand glows yellow and touches the undead creature's forehead while Budou smiles as she looks to Sanae and says "mama, this creatures is very nice. She's sorry for scaring you, but she needed someone who could understand her to give her friends a message."

Phredia's hand stops glowing and the vampire's decaying body turns to pink, white and lilac flowers that suddenly explode and spread around while Mirida's human voice echoes "thank you."

Budou stares at the three goddesses for a moment, then Suwako smacks her own forehead and says "wait a minute, Kanako! Aren't we goddesses!? We should have been able to hear her!!"

Sanae smiles sheepishly and says "erm, I'll go... and check up on Ail now. You two naughty goddesses better sort this out soon."

-

At the Netherworld, far behind Hakugyokurou, S-Yuyuko runs as fast as she can, panting with every step she takes, headed straight toward a beautiful grassy field bathed in warm sunlight from the late noon's sun; a field where the cursed cherry tree, the Saigyou Ayakashi stands.

S-Yuyuko laughs maniacally when she reaches the tree and says "now, all I have to do is revive this tree and these lands will become mine!"

From behind her, inside a gap, Yukari covers her mouth with her fan as she says "you think I'd let you do something as dangerous?"

With a crazed expression on her face, the shadow turns around to face Yukari, and sounding desperate she asks "why do you keep hunting me like this!? What did I do to you!?"

Yukari closes her fan and grips it so tightly it snaps in two on her hand, then says "even now you act like a victim. The real Yuyuko would never act the way you do. I will take pleasure in ridding the world of your miserable existence."

S-Yuyuko's crazed eyes fill with panic, so she rushes next to the cursed tree and places both hands on it, and in a crazed tone of voice she says "betrayed by my friend, my guardian... what's next!? Well no matter! Once I revive this tree, I will use its powers and kill you, then that FAKE ghost self of mine, and take over these lands and make them my OWN! Yes! YES!!! By doing this, I'll have my revenge on the Saigyou! It's PERFECT!"

Yukari shouts back "you're just a raving lunatic!"

Meanwhile, at Hakugyokurou, Yuyuko has placed Youmu on a futon and now is holding both of Youmu's swords by their hilts.

She says "Youmu, this might hurt for a bit, so just bare with it for a little bit."

As she stares straight at her gardener's ghost half hanging on the wall, looking like a weakened white version of Youmu herself, Yuyuko thinks "I'm not good with all these physical things, but if I use my own power, I can free her."

Yuyuko's hands glow pink, and in a quick move she manages to pull both swords at the same time from the wall, and from the ghost's body.

Youmu twitches after the ghost half falls on the ground, but quickly expels her breath and lies still.

Yuyuko grabs the ghostly Youmu and places her next to her gardener, then says "what a horrible monster that woman was. Giving your ghost a half life, cutting you own like in half like that. But don't you worry, Youmu. I'll fix this for you."

Yuyuko stands up and closes her eyes then the entire living room fills with gradient colored butterflies.

Two particular butterflies that glow a bit brighter than the others fly straight on to Youmu's ghost half, immediately glowing brighter and brighter.

Meanwhile, the other butterflies fly outside the shrine and spread around, flying all over the Netherworld, landing on the misshapen half-revived spirits and taking away that half life, turning them back to normal spirits.

-

Outside the Netherworld, all over Gensokyo, all sort of undead creatures fall back to the ground, lying lifelessly on the ground as corpses should.

A the Human Village, everyone cheers as the bodies fall one by one while a happy black omen nekomata laughs and picks up every single corpse she can find, even those without skin on them.

She happily shouts "YA-HAY~ So many corpses, and all for ME~~!"

She reaches Kyo as he says in a sad tone of voice "it was nice having a real dog for a change... May you rest in peace, little scamp."

Orin rushes by, grabbing the dog's corpse by its bony tail and shouting "a dog, it's a DOG! You're going in FIRST!" then manages to stuff it in the already overfilled wheelbarrow.

Kyo extends his arm toward Orin and whimpers "little scamp. No!"

At the Moriya shrine, with the help of Sanae, Ail manages to stand up and walk to Budou, then asks "so all she wanted was to give you a message?"

Budou smiles and nods, then says "I promised I'd find her friends and give them her message."

Phredia stands on Budou's shoulder and nods with a smile toward Budou, then Ail says "well I'll be. And here I was worried that vampire wanted to hurt you... I would have never forgiven myself if..."

Sanae interrupts by saying "well, why don't we all have dinner, huh? It's almost nightfall anyway, and I'm sure everyone's very hungry... right?"

Ail sighs and stares to the ground, then Suwako says "well I know a certain someone that's aching for some food in his stomach... right Ail?"

Ail raises his head and manages to smile, then after Sanae helps him sit on the porch she claps her hands softly and says "then I'll start cooking some dinner now. Please wait for a bit."

Everyone nods and Kanako says "sure thing."

After Sanae runs inside, Ail looks around the shrine's courtyard, and just as he's about to say something, a large silver washtub falls on his head, successfully knocking him out cold again.

Suwako sighs and casually says "another one... And he was under the roof even. How is that even possible?"

Kanako shrugs and says " I haven't the faintest idea."

At Rikako's lab, looking very nervous toward a monitor that shows Ail being knocked out by the washtub, S-Kyo says "well, the washtub teleporter works."

Rikako sweats and says "j-just some minor bugs."

-

Back at the Netherworld, Yukari finds herself unable to attack the shadow as she threatens to revive the Saigyou Ayakashi if she tries anything, however, Yukari tries to show no interest in order to take S-Yuyuko by surprise.

Sounding crazed, S-Yuyuko says "last chance, Yukari. Back down and let me do my work... or better yet, swear your allegiance to me. You know you want to, I mean... you were... are my friend."

Yukari growls softly without responding and simply continues to look around for some way to attack that shadow.

S-Yuyuko glares back at Yukari, then says "your silence says it all. Alright then, you can just die along with that ghost friend of yours."

The shadow's hands glow light blue as she places her hands on the tree and says "may you burn in the fiery depths of hell along with all those monsters that made my life a misery."

She smiles as her energy courses through the tree and says "say hi to those damned Saigyou for me."

Yukari look with horror as the Saigyou Ayakashi quickly start to bloom once more, the seals around it weakening.

She succumbs to despair and shouts "I won't let you!"

Yukari opens many white gaps around the shadow and releases every single blast she had collected from S-Yuyuko before, landing various hits on the shadow, who regardless of the pain, endures and continues to revive the tree, however, to her dismay, a silhouette in the shape of Yuyuko appears glowing form the tree itself.

S-Yuyuko opens her crazed eyes wide and shouts "no... NO! I'm here! How can I be in there!? No, this is not possible!"

Yuyuko's silhouette unleashes so many death butterflies the entire field is overwhelmed in just seconds, all avoiding Yukari.

S-Yuyuko screams in pain as Yukari's attack, combined with the death butterflies strike hard on her body.

A bright flash covers the entire Netherworld, and slowly, the light dims.

Yukari opens her eyes and to her surprise, she finds S-Yuyuko lying beside the tree, missing chunks of her body.

The missing chunks are replaced by a dark silhouette, whoever, S-Yuyuko is in terrible pain, spitting out black blood and trying to speak.

From behind Yukari, holding Roukanken tightly by its hilt, comes Youmu, looking as young as ever with her ghost half flying around her, looking like a large spirit once more.

She walks to the shadow and looks at her with pity, and with a quick swing of her sword she cuts the shadow's head off and immediately it's body turns to black dust, then blows away with the wind.

Yukari looks at the cherry tree and sees Yuyuko's silhouette bowing to her, so she bows her head to her friend, feeling great relief as her old friend disappears back into the tree.

Youmu looks at Yukari with curiosity and asks "what is it, Yukari-sama?"

Yukari replies "it's nothing." then smiles at Youmu and says "I see Yuyuko whipped you back into shape."

Youmu smiles, and sounding both happy and sad, she says "well that shadow did one good thing out of all things."

Curious, Yukari asks "and what would that be?"

Youmu looks to the ground as she sheathes her sword and says "thanks to her, I have learned to appreciate Yuyuko-sama a little more..."

Yukari pulls a violet fan from her gap and opens it in front of her face as she says "I see. That's good then."

Youmu and Yukari walk back to Yuyuko, who stands close to the shrine, waving a hand back at her friends.

-

Nigh at the Moriya Shrine.

Ail and Sanae speak with Reimu through one of his gaps.

Reimu says "thankfully, nobody got hurt this time. Mima actually saved some of the village children."

All three chuckle just as Mima says in an angry tone "hey, hey! Don't go telling lies now! Maidens should know better! I was JUST passing by!"

Reimu replies "aw, pipe down and eat already. Well, glad to hear everything is alright over there as well. Sanae, Ail, I'll see you later."

Ail bows and says "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Sanae adds "I'll make sure he's there." Reimu smiles, then the gap closes.

Budou runs to Ail and after jumping on his arm she says "let's go home now, papa!"

Ail chuckles and says "alright, don't be too hasty now."

He looks to Sanae and says "well, see you tomorrow then."

Sanae simply smiles and bows her head, Ail and Budou bowing their heads as well.

As Ail lifts to the air with Budou on his arm, heading straight to one of his gaps, she shouts "see you tomorrow mama, big sister, gramma. Be good!"

From the shrine, Suwako shouts "hey, that's our line!" Budou giggles as she and Ail enter the gap.

Sanae turns around and finds Kanako holding her hand toward Ail's direction, then asks "you're not taking your mirror back?"

Kanako hesitantly pulls her hand back down and says "n-no, let's leave it a little longer."

Sanae smiles and says "once you look into that mirror you'll be convince. He's a very special soul. A kind one too."

Smiling nervously, Kanako says "yeah... Yeah, we'll see."

Sanae heads straight to the shrine while Kanako stays outside, thinking "what is wrong with me? This was the perfect moment. I can't have doubts now. Tomorrow morning, I'm summoning that mirror back!"

She clenches her fist and looks up to the night sky with great determination, then turns around after the skies fill with many falling red leaves, and heads straight toward the shrine.

Meanwhile, at the Hakurei Shrine, Rika approaches Reimu, who is looking grimly toward the night sky.

Rika asks "is something wrong, miss Reimu?"

Reimu continues to look to the sky and says "Rika... tomorrow, I need you to help me entertain a very special guest. Can I count on you?"

Confused, Rika replies "o... well of course. You can always count on me, miss Reimu."

Reimu turns her face to Rika, then smiles, however Rika can see great worry in her mistress' eyes.

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN –Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Luna, Budou and Phredia were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

JAN 14 2010

written by

Willie G.R.


	28. Chapter 27

Early morning at the Moriya Shrine.

The sun isn't even out yet, and Kanako stands outside on the courtyard wearing her white sleeping robes, ignoring the cool late autumn winds.

Every day it gets colder, and more leaves fall off the trees around the shrine, covering the grounds on orange and red.

Kanako stares at the cloudy sky and thinks "should I really do this? I just want to help them, and yet... What if Moriya is right? What if I am making a mistake? But..."

An image of Sanae walking away and holding Ail's hand as she leaves, while saying "it's time I left lady Yasaka, lady Moriya. Please take care~!" crosses Kanako's mind.

She clenches her eyes tight, clenches her teeth, then lifts her arm toward the clouds and after opening her eyes, she says "no! That's not how it should be! Come back to me!"

Nothing happens except for the soft rumble of thunder.

Kanako continues to hold her hand wide open in the air and from the distance a small light-blue orb heads straight to the goddess' hand, and upon landing it morphs back into her mirror.

She stares at it for a few seconds, then clenches her hand around it, saying to herself "it's the right thing... I just know it."

-

Morning at the Human Village.

Ail and Budou walk by Renko and Maribel's still unfinished house.

Ail stares at the house for some time, then Budou curiously asks "papa, is something wrong?"

Ail smiles and says "a lot of things. Some of these walls are a little unstable so maybe..."

As he places various blue barriers against some walls and on the roof, he thinks "if it wasn't for those shadows... I hope I can make amends if I help out over here for a little bit."

Ail smiles at Budou and says "let's help Renko and Maribel fix their new house."

Budou smiles and says "alrighty papa! Let's help bookworm 2 and kind sis!"

Two hours pass when Kyo and Luna arrive, carrying a few tools in a box.

They hear hammering inside the house, and sounding annoyed, Kyo says "geez, the girls are a little early, don't you think?"

Luna simply smiles at Kyo, then turns to the door and opens it to find Ail and Budou hovering around the roof, hammering one of the corners.

Kyo and Luna notice the barriers on the walls and roof, then Luna says "well this is a surprise."

Kyo exclaims "Ail, buddy!"

Ail and Budou turn to face Luna and Kyo, and with smiles on their faces, Ail says "Kyo, good morning" and Budou says "large brother, miss Luna! HELLO~!"

Kyo twitches and asks "tch! Why large?"

After some greetings, Kyo asks "so what are you guys doing here? It's not like you to visit the village at these hours."

Ail pats Budou's head, making her giggle as he says "this little one has a very important message for Mirida's friends, but they haven't woken up yet, so... I though..."

Luna taps Kyo's shoulder and whispers "Kyo, now's a good time to talk to him."

Kyo whispers back "you take care of Budou meanwhile, right?"

Luna winks and whispers back "you caught on quicker than I thought. That cast on your leg might be a good thing after all."

Before Kyo complains, Luna gives him a light kiss on the lips, effectively calming him down.

After that, Luna smiles at Budou, bends down, patting her own thighs lightly, then says "say, Budou, why don't I take you to see Nia and Kikiru. You know... Mirida's friends!"

Budou contently flaps her wings and says "really? Miss Mirida did say 'no men allowed', so that would really be of help!"

Ail sweats and says "I see. You didn't tell me that."

Budou smiles angelically at Ail and says "well of course. You're a man. I can't tell you."

Ail's face turns blue as he forces a smile and says "I... I see."

Luna says "look, I'll go and take her to see them. They should be wide awake by now."

Kyo smirks and says "that's a great idea, sweetheart. Ail and I will just have some MAN time over here."

Ignoring Kyo, Luna and Budou head straight to the door, and before closing the door behind them, Luna says "sure, sure. Just don't go making a mess of things while we're gone. And if you call me 'sweetheart' again, I'll kill you."

Kyo stares both scared and angry toward the girls while Ail sweats and just smiles sheepishly, saying "oh my."

-

At the Moriya Shrine, Sanae enters the living room after having swept most of the leaves from the shrine grounds and says "it's so cloudy today. I hope it doesn't start raining. I got laundry to wash."

Kanako walks into the living room, feeling as though her heart is beating inside her throat.

Sanae spots her and with a smile she says "lady Yasaka, good morning."

Kanako gulps, feeling her heart setting itself back in its place, then manages to nervously say "Sa-Sanae, good morning."

Sanae notices the mirror and says "I see you summoned it back... So? Are you going to stop bugging Ail?"

Again, Kanako feels her heart jumping straight back to her throat and is unable to answer.

Sanae gets a bit annoyed and says "you are too proud, lady Yasaka. You couldn't find anything incriminating in there, so you can't even say anything, is that it?"

Kanako thinks "Yasaka, what is the matter with you? Just do it. GIVE HER THE MIRROR! It'll all be over, and that's that."

The goddess manages to calm herself down, filling herself with determination, then takes the mirror from her chest and offers it to Sanae, saying "there's something you have to see here."

Sanae places her hands on her waist, tilting her head slightly to the right, and looking suspiciously at Kanako she asks "did you do something to it?"

Kanako twitches, but quickly recovers and nervously says "n-no way, I only picked it up 5 hours ago. Just... take a look."

Sanae walks closer to Kanako and hesitantly picks the mirror up.

She takes a deep breath and says "alright then, let's have a look in here."

Meanwhile, at Maribel and Renko's almost finished house, Kyo approaches Ail and ask "so, buddy, have you had a chance to think about you and Sanae?"

Ail stares blankly at the wall in front of him and asks "me and Sanae? What about me and Sanae?"

Kyo sounds a bit annoyed when she says "now don't play dumb with me. Look, I know you like each other. In fact, I say you LOVE each other, right!?"

Ail scratches his chin and looks up to the ceiling, as if thinking very hard, then says "look... I think you have been reading a few too many romance novels. Sanae and I are just good-"

"friends!?" finishes Kyo.

He grabs Ail by his shoulders, looking at his friend directly into his eyes and says "you CAN'T be this dense! Haven't you noticed how every time something happens to either of you, the other totally loses it? How Sanae seems to be protective of you? How she flips whenever any other girl gets too close to you? How YOU totally lose it whenever SHE gets hurt? COME ON!"

Ail looks back at Kyo and says "well, that... um... *sigh* Look, I like Sanae, but it's not like that."

Kyo shakes Ail very violently while shouting "are you even listening to me, you idiot!?"

He stops shaking him, then starts slapping him across the face with his left hand, saying "you... are... playing... dumb.. with me!"

He stops smacking Ail, letting him go and saying "and I don't like that."

Ail rubs his cheeks, then sighs and sadly says "look, whatever I may think, there's no way she would like me like that."

Kyo clenches his teeth, bends backward, then gives Ail a powerful headbutt, and asks "didn't you hear what I just SAID? That girl's eyes sparkle whenever she sees you; same for you when you see her."

With some effort, Ail manages to keep on his feet while his eyes spin in place after that headbutt.

After miraculously recovering, Ail says "w-wait, are you... sure?"

Kyo raises both hands toward the ceiling and after sighing he says "FINALLY! Look, buddy, just go to her, talk to her, and if you don't figure it out after that, I'm going to beat you up. Is that clear?"

Ail keeps quiet for a moment, staring at the door, then Kyo says "I'll let Budou know, alright?"

Ail says "thanks... umm... Kyo? Was it really that obvious?"

Kyo sighs and says "just go already! And yes, even Cirno noticed!"

Hesitantly, Ail heads out the door, thinks for a moment, then looks at the dark clouds and says "well... umm... wish me luck."

After Ail leaves, Kyo limps outside and looks at his friend as he flies toward the Moriya Shrine, then asks himself "did... I do the right thing? Why do I have this uneasy feeling?"

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu runs to the shrine's gates, but stops when Rika worriedly shouts "my lady, what's the matter!?"

Reimu hurriedly says "no time! I'm bringing Budou here, so get things ready for her please!"

Reimu lifts to the air and says "we CAN'T let her go to the Moriya, Rika. We just can't!"

Rika shouts "my lady, what's going on!?"

Reimu shouts back "just be ready to keep Budou distracted! Anything you can think of!"

As Reimu flies toward the Forest of Magic to pick up Budou from Ail's house, she thinks "crap, he's earlier than I thought. Ugh! I wish I could go there and clear things up, but if I do the yama will be mad."

Reimu speeds up as much as she can, unaware that Budou is still in the village with Luna and Kyo.

Meanwhile, at the Moriya shrine, just as Sanae takes a look in the mirror, Suwako calls her from outside.

Sanae stops looking and says "ah, lady Moriya is calling me." then shouts back "coming~!"

She takes the mirror with her as she heads outside.

Kanako feels great anxiety and is hesitant as to follow Sanae, or stay inside the house.

She looks at the clouds in the sky and remembers her days before Ail. It was always Suwako, Sanae and herself, a happy united family of three. Suddenly, Ail pops into the image and everything goes dark. Sanae leaves with Ail and shortly after, Suwako leaves as well, leaving Kanako behind inside an empty shrine.

Kanako's heart feels cold as a tear escapes her right eye.

She clenches her fist so tightly it turns white, then she says to herself "I have to break that bond, no matter what happens!"

As she walks outside she thinks "you saw it Kanako. When they were looking for Budou, he almost took her away from you. He even had a perverted dream with Sanae. Kanako, you are doing the right thing. Just endure."

Outside, next to the large red gates, Suwako sits on the ground like a frog and says "Sanae, maybe you shouldn't look in there."

Sanae smiles and replies "hmm, I know I'm invading his privacy with this... but I'm kind of curious."

Suwako grabs a nearby broom and says "well... alright then. I'll... just be here sweeping these leaves."

Sanae's smile widens and says "thank you lady Moriya. Now... let's have a look in-"

Kanako reaches Sanae just as she takes a look inside the mirror.

Sanae's eyes hide under her hair and her smile quickly vanishes.

Kanako thinks "she looked inside. This is it. Goodbye Anilan, welcome back Sanae!"

Sanae's expression twists to a mixture of disgust and rage the moment moaning sounds come from inside the mirror.

In the mirror, Ail is met by Yuka after reviving the flowers he fell upon, the first time they met.

After he's done reviving them he dusts his hands and says "well, that should do it." then spots Yuka staring at him.

She asks "and why did you do that? They are just flowers after all."

Ail replies "maybe they are JUST flowers, but they have life and they feel pain as well."

Yuka opens her eyes wide... the image in the mirror fills with static for a second and after the image returns, Yuka pounces him, kissing him passionately.

Ail doesn't resist at all and just accepts it, immediately holding Yuka and passionately rubs her arms as he kisses her shoulders.

Sanae covers her open mouth with her free hand, but continues to look into the mirror.

-

At Ail's house, Reimu knocks on the door, calling desperately for Budou to come out, saying "Budou! Are you there~!? It's me, your Hakurei sis!"

Reimu sighs in defeat and asks "did he take her with him? This could be bad."

Reimu is just about to leave, but thankfully, from the sky, Budou shouts "Hakurei sis, hello~!"

Reimu turns around and spots Budou flying beside Luna, both smiling and waving at her.

Reimu feels like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders, and feeling great relief she says "Budou, Luna, so GLAD to see you!"

Upon landing, Budou gives a light hug to Reimu and asks "sis, why are you here? This is such a nice surprise!"

Reimu immediately asks "where's Ail?"

Luna replies for Budou, saying "he went to the Moriya Shrine to talk to the maiden there."

Luna then smiles as she says "Kyo had a little chat with him, and it seems he's finally realized what everyone else knows as a fact."

Reimu sweats and says "nice... very nice timing. Oh well, it was still bound to happen."

Luna stops smiling and looking curiously at Reimu she asks "what? What's going on."

Reimu points at Budou with her eyes, then Luna says "well, umm, I'll just go to the shrine later then."

Reimu nods, then turns to Budou and says "Budou, I want you to come to the shrine with me."

Budou stares curiously back at Reimu, then smiles and says "ok *giggle*. Why do you look so nervous? Is something wrong?"

Reimu looks to the ground, then says "not yet... Anyway, I want you to come with me. There's something bad looming in the air today and I want to keep you safe there."

Budou smiles and proudly says "I'll have you know, I can take care of myself. I could even beat papa someday. Big sister Suwako said so."

Reimu smiles and says "oh, well you are still growing up, and I'd still be very worried for you. Please, come with me so I can feel safer."

Luna adds "go ahead, Budou. It's not every day you get invited to play with your Hakurei sis. You said so yourself."

Budou thinks for a moment, then smiles and nods while staring at Reimu.

Reimu sighs with relief and says "thanks Luna. I promise to explain later. Just..."

Reimu smiles and says "if you can, visit my shrine later."

Luna nods, and after a quick farewell, Budou and Reimu fly back to the Hakurei Shrine, and Luna flies back to village.

Meanwhile, at the Moriya Shrine, Sanae cries as she continues to look into the mirror, showing Ail inviting the girls at the swimsuit contest to surround him.

After some moaning and giggling sounds, the scene changes, showing Ail reaching for the door to his house, and Sakuya coming from behind, placing her dagger on his neck.

The scene fills with some static, then Sakuya says "did you think I'd let you go that easily? I want another round, mister!"

Sanae's hands tremble, she sniffles and sobs, but continues to look into the mirror.

-

Flying just above the youkai forest, Ail stops and lands next to the river, then says to himself "wh-what if Kyo's wrong. What if I just make a fool of myself... She'll laugh at me, all three of them. *gulp* I... I can't do this. I don't want them to look at me like some clown, or worse, some sort of pervert... Uuu~, what to do?"

From behind, an arm wrapped in a red bow with white frills places itself on Ail's shoulder, scaring him to the point of freezing in surprise.

Ail trembles as he turns around, spotting Hina Kagiyama staring back at him with a carefree smile.

She waves her hand at him and says "hello Ail. It's been a while."

Ail relaxes and says "miss Hina. Phew, you startled me. How are you?"

Hina shakes her head and says "I was about to ask you the same. You seem a little on edge. Something I can help you with?"

Ail sighs and says "i-it's nothing... It's just... I need to talk to someone, but I am not sure if that is such a good idea. I mean... what I need to talk about could REALLY ruin a great friendship, so I'm kind of doubtful."

Hina smiles widely and says "well, you won't know until you speak with her. Sanae hasn't left the shrine today, so you're sure to find her there."

Ail opens his eyes wide and asks "you too?"

Hina covers her mouth with her wrapped hand as she giggles, then looks at Ail and says "someone as wise as you should have noticed by now. Then again, maybe you just can't see these things as clearly. Regardless, you should go and speak to her."

Ail nods and scratches the back of his head, smiling sheepishly at Hina, then says "I guess you're right. Thanks a bunch Hina."

Ail waves his hand at Hina as he lifts to the air and flies slowly toward the Moriya Shrine.

Hina smiles as she turns around, but gasps and opens her eyes wide after feeling a very bad vibration coming from the shrine's direction.

She looks toward the top of the mountain and says "I feel... something terrible is happening up there."

She closes her eyes for a moment, then opens them quickly, then shouts "oh no, Ail. Wait, Ail come back!"

She flies after him, however, she can't find him anywhere.

She looks to the shrine again and without wasting another second, the flies straight to the shrine in hopes to find Ail before he reaches his destination.

Meanwhile, Sanae watches in horror as the mirror now shows Ail trapping Reimu inside her own shrine with lustful desires.

Reimu cries in despair and shouts "Ail, stop! I can't do this, you know that!"

Just before Ail pounces Reimu, Lily white knocks down the sliding doors of the shrine, trying to save Reimu, but Ail blasts both with a violet laser, then slowly walks over their unconscious bodies with a wicked smile.

Reimu and Lily both smile peeking through one eye each, then Reimu says "cut the theatrics and just start with the fun!"

Ail laughs and says "though you'd never ask!"

He starts ripping their clothes off, and even though her lips don't move, Lily White says "he's MINE!"

-

Reimu and Budou arrive at the Hakurei Shrine, and immediately after landing Reimu calls for Rika, however, there is no reply.

Reimu looks curiously at Budou and says "she might be in the bathroom, perhaps."

From the back of the shrine, accompanied by a drum roll, Mima announces "and now, for your everyday entertainment, here is that amazing RIKA~."

Mima's expression changes to disgust as she slumps and says "and now I'm outta' here."

Reimu sighs and thinks "she went a little too far" but then looks at Budou's sparkling face, then smiles as she thinks "then again, it seems it's working."

Rika summersaults into view, raising her hands in the air, then shouts "today, I will be performing a dance with my wind sword, then I'll amaze you with my skills using my fire and ice swords. Are you READY!?"

Budou shouts "YEAH~!"

Reimu just sweats and forces a sheepish smile, then she and Budou follow Rika to the back of the shrine after she signals for them to follow her.

After sitting on the porch beside some cups of tea and some snacks on a tray, Rika smiles and says "and now, my wind dance. Oath Keeper!"

Rika jumps inside her golden gate with a flip, then comes out with a Japanese sword on her belt.

Rika smiles as she unsheathes the sword, but to her surprise, the band on the unsharpened side is white.

Rika first asks "what's this...?"

Budou looks at the sword and says "ooh, so pretty~"

Rika gasps and starts jumping in place, shouting "ALRIGHT~! Miss Reimu, look, look, the last element! I finally got lightning!"

Reimu sweats and smiles, then softly asks "weren't you doing your wind dance?"

Rika excitedly shouts "oh, I just have to try this baby out!"

She points her sword to the sky, and from above, splitting the clouds apart, a bold of lightning strikes Rika's sword.

She swings her blade around, sending lightning danmaku bullets that fly a little too close to Budou and Reimu.

Reimu shouts in a panic "Rika, watch out, you almost hit us!"

Budou claps her hands and shouts "do it again, do it again!"

Rika smirks and says "alright then."

She places her left hand on her waist and raises the sword with her right arm, summoning another bolt of lightning that causes a bright flash.

When the light dims down, to Rika's right, holding her left hand up, pointing upward with her index finger, and placing her right hand on her waist is Iku Nagae, looking quite serious and saying "dance with me, partner!"

At first, Rika is surprised, but Iku starts raising and lowering her arm, tapping her right foot in rhythm, and looking quite serious.

Rika recovers from the surprise and smiles as she says "oh yeah, this is FUN~!"

Iku suddenly twirls in place and stops, now raising her right arm and placing her left on her waist.

Rika does the same, however, she forgets her sword is charged and strikes herself with her own lightning danmaku.

Iku smiles and says "you need more practice if you REALLY want to feel the fever!"

Reimu face palms and says "and she arrives uninvited."

Budou just giggles and claps her little hands together while happily flapping her wings.

The moment of laughter is cut short when a sudden energy wave passes right through the shrine, accompanied by countless scarlet clouds in the sky.

Iku sighs and says "and so begins the end of that life."

Reimu panics and shouts "Nagae, don't you DARE start prophesying over here! Just leave!"

Iku sighs and says "the message has been delivered regardless, so I'll take my leave."

In a flash, Iku disappears, then Rika asks "what just happened?"

When she looks at Reimu, she realizes she holds on to Budou, who trembles and whimpers.

Reimu then says to Rika "she felt that. This isn't good."

-

At the Moriya Shrine, watching Sanae from a good distance, Suwako punches Kanako's arm, and sounding angry she points at Sanae with both hands and says "there, you got her to cry! Are you happy now?"

Kanako sighs and says "but it's... for her own good."

Suwako stares at Sanae for a little longer, and unable to bare seeing her cry like that, she says "that's it. Kanako, I can't take this. I'm telling her!"

Kanako twitches and gasps, but just lowers her head and nods, then crosses her arms around her chest.

Suwako walks toward Sanae, but stops and gasps as she looks toward the shrine's gates, then says "oh... oh no. Bad timing. REALLY bad timing."

Kanako raises her head and asks "what is it?"

Suwako turns around to face Kanako and says "it's Ail."

Ail lands several feet away from Sanae, calling for her the moment his feet touch the ground.

He gets a good look at her, then frowns when he realizes she is crying.

He takes three steps closer and asks "Sanae, what's the matter!? Why are you crying!?"

Ail sees the attack coming, but the shock prevents him from moving.

Sanae grabs the mirror with her left hand and punches Ail's left cheek as hard as she can, leaving a long cut that immediately starts bleeding.

She flinches and drops the mirror, crying "ow~ Dammit!"

Staring blankly, still in shock, Ail asks "Sa... Sanae... Why...?"

Sanae's left hand starts bleeding, having used Kanako's mirror like a weapon.

She ignores the pain and grabs her gohei with her right hand, and with hatred filling her already tear-filled eyes, she strikes Ail so hard she sends him flying backwards toward the large red gate at the shrine's entrance.

Afterwards, she fires a spinning red star aimed directly at his face, though Ail manages to raise his arms in time to protect himself, getting some nasty burn marks on his forearms.

Sanae walks closer to him with hatred swelling up inside her heart.

Suwako shouts "Kanako, she's going to kill him!"

Kanako gasps and says "that's not part of the plan!"

Both goddesses run straight to Sanae in hopes to stop her from using her powers and kill the half youkai in front of her.

Sanae raises her gohei above her head, holding it with both hands. Ail feels the power storing up in that gohei, but he is still in shock and is unable to absorb what's happening.

Sanae starts to sob, then lowers her gohei, and with a cracking voice she says "don't you ever come back to this place. Don't ever let me see your face again... you lecher."

Ail doesn't understand what's happening. He doesn't even know what 'lecher' means, but he is so confused and frightened her can't find the will to speak. He just watches in shock as Sanae flies away, sobbing uncontrollably.

Scarlet clouds start to fill the sky, but Ail doesn't even notice.

He finds the strength and will to stand up, then spots the two concerned looking goddesses standing where Sanae was when he arrived.

He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. He takes a deep breath, chocking back his tears and pushing back the sadness that swells inside of him, then manages to ask "wha... What... just.. happen?"

Suwako tries to speak, but can't think of anything to say, while Kanako thinks "that was close. Now I need to find that mirror before..."

Kanako snaps out of her though when Ail asks "what... what's this? Sanae was looking into this before attacking me."

-

Kanako's face fills with panic as Ail looks into the mirror.

At first, all he sees is his reflection, but after a little while he sees himself the night the Random Sukima was brought to life by his own foolish hands.

More precisely, the moment after rescuing Sanae from Yuka's attack, after having landed on the flower youkai's precious flowers.

Ail says "this... It's that night. How? What is this?"

He continues to look into the mirror and sees how he restores all of Yuka's flowers, then says "there, you see? No need to be blasting others."

Yuka stares at him for a while, then jumps on him and shouts "you should stay here with me forever!"

She kisses his cheeks as he holds her on his arms, making him yelp.

Ail places her back on the ground and there's a sudden static in the mirror, and just like that, the image continues.

Ail grabs Yuka by her shoulders and says "I can't stay here forever... but I can make this night last for a while."

The real Ail looks horrorstruck as the sounds of moaning and laughing come from the mirror.

He says "wait a minute... This isn't how it happened. I declined and she started shooting at me! What is this... wait..."

The mirror switches to the day he met Reisen's shadow, though at that time he didn't know she was the shadow.

In the mirror, he pulls Reisen away, saying "you better head home. Eirin is so worried about you."

Again, the mirror gets sudden static, when the image comes back, Reisen, in a seductive voice, says to Ail "I... could stay here a little longer. I do need a bath. I could even use some help."

Ail smirks and places his arm round Reisen's waist, then says "well, why not? It should be fun."

The real Ail's face turns red with rage and he screams "what the hell IS THIS GARBAGE!? This is not what happened!"

He looks at Suwako and points angrily at the mirror, shouting "what is this crap!? Why is it showing such disgusting lies about me!?"

Ail tightens his grip on the mirror and raises it above his head, clenching his teeth and breathing through his mouth, summoning strength to his arm.

Noticing what he's about to do, Kanako shouts "wait, don't!!"

Ail uses all his strength to throw the mirror to the ground, smashing it into pieces, the booming sound of thunder muting the sound of the mirror smashing to the ground.

Ail continues to stare at the many pieces of the mirror as they start glowing light blue, then turn into a single orb that heads straight back on to Kanako's chest.

Ail stares with horror at the realization that the mirror is actually Kanako's.

He stares at her with his mouth wide open, holding back both a feeling of rage and sadness while he asks "tha—that mirror is yours? Lady Yasaka... why?"

-

At the Field of the Sun, while Kurumi and Elly, who are covered in bruises, water some of the flowers around Yuka's small house, Yuka feels the urge to check on the house-sized flower Ail had grown for her a long time ago.

The moment she reaches it she stares with curiosity and says "well, this is new."

From the inside to the outside of its giant petals, bands of red, violet and blue course through, changing the flower's color constantly.

Yuka touches the flower and immediately jumps back with a yelp.

Elly rushes to her mistress concernedly shouting "what is it lady Yukarin! Did someone attack you?"

When she looks at the flower, she says "wow, miss Yukarin, your powers are amazing!"

Yuka stares at the flower with narrow eyes, then opens her parasol, resting it against her shoulder, then says "that's not me. This is the flower I told you about. The one that kid revived for me."

Elly suppresses the urge to cut the flower down and while gripping her scythe tightly she asks through her teeth "you mean Ail, right?"

Yuka nods and calmly asks "I wonder what does this mean?"

Meanwhile, at the Moriya Shine, Ail stands facing Kanako with his eyes hidden behind his hair under a dark shadow.

Kanako quietly stares back with a strict look, but doesn't say a word.

Ail, slowly losing control of his rage asks "what is the meaning of this?"

Kanako gulps, but stays quiet for a moment, then says "bah! Enough of this! Ail, I'm going to say this and get it over with. I want you out of here. I want you to get as FAR away from Sanae and us as you can."

Tears fill the still hidden eyes of Ail. He can feel as his own tears cause stinging pain as they course through the cut on his left cheek.

This pain fuels the rage swelling up inside of him, then he shouts "why!? What the hell did I do NOW!?"

Kanako replies "if you keep interfering with Sanae's life, she's going to end up dead, and it'll be all your fault!"

Ail clenches his fists tightly and shouts "I would NEVER do that to Sanae, and you know it!!"

Kanako replies "look, I know you're a thick-headed idiot, but even YOU know what I'm talking about. We saw what happened when you entered that hellish Makai with Sanae. Ail, an entire MOUNTAIN FELL ON TOP OF HER!!!"

Ail opens his mouth, hoping to reply back, but no words come out.

He remembers the feeling of terror in his heart when he thought Sanae had died in such a manner, however, the thought changes to Kanako's mirror.

He calmly asks "is that why... you used that thing? Is that why you showed all that CRAP to Sanae? All those lies?"

Suwako watches from a distance, unable to decide who to side with.

Kanako has a point. Being with Ail has changed Sanae, and he has gotten her into danger over and over.

On the other hand, she knows it's not his fault.

She remembers how this all stared. They wanted Sanae to stop liking Ail so much. To forget about him and go back to them.

Now, it has scaled to something that seems too much, even for her, who is a god.

Suwako snaps out of her thoughts when Kanako says "this mirror shows what's inside your heart, Ail. This is what's inside YOUR heart. You can't deny it, can you? It's all in there, Ail. You heart is as black as the void. Do us a favor, and just... disappear."

Ail drops his head, looking at his feet and letting his tears drop to the ground.

Kanako stares on with a neutral face, watching as his entire body trembles.

The tears suddenly stop as he raises his clenched fist toward his own face, making Kanako stare with curiosity, only to get shocked at the sight.

Ail violently lifts his head with his eyes widely open, a dark shadow surrounding them, showing great fury and hatred.

Clenching his teeth, Ail lifts his arm behind his head, then rushes toward Kanako.

-

Kanako is shocked by Ail's sudden attack and just stares, unable to move.

Ail rushes to her and just as he strikes down with his arm, thunder echoes all over the mountain, while a lightning bolt flash blinds Suwako from seeing what has happened.

Hidden under some bushes beside the great red gate of the shrine is Hina, watching in horror and saying "first I am too late, and now I'm stuck here watching these terrible events. This is worse than a curse."

Kanako has narrowly dodged Ail's attack, losing only a few strands of hair.

She stands with her eyes wide open, staring blankly in complete shock as Ail lifts himself up, pulling from the ground a red dagger he has made with red energy.

Giving Kanako no chance to recover, he swings the magical blade at her neck and face, clenching his teeth and speaking through them, saying "of all... the people... I never... expected... you'd do... something as terrible... as this!"

Kanako backs away, but trips on her own skirt, falling on her back, watching as Ail lifts his arm once again and shouting "today I send a god to HELL!"

Kanako reacts to these words and blasts Ail hard with a powerful energy orb, sending him flying several feet away and making him fall on his back.

She stands up, holding two more energy orbs on her hands, summoning various logs to her, which set on her back, then aggressively says "you are correct. I am a GOD. You have no right to attack me like that, so bow down and beg for forgiveness, and I might just let you live, even after that little ambush of yours."

Ail springs to his feet and hovers menacingly in the air, and with a twisted smile he laughs. First it's a small chuckle, but then progresses to an insane cackle, then he stops.

He surrounds himself with red energy and stares down at Kanako, then says "you are no better than a monster."

He fires various red orbs straight at the god and says "you make me believe I am like family to you."

He fires red beams that upon hitting the ground, turn into homing oval bullets, making Kanako run and flip all over to avoid being hit, then says "then you use that lying crap to put Sanae against me, feeding LIES to her about me!"

He fires a combination of orbs, all of various shapes and sizes, all bouncing off three times from any surface, seeking Kanako with each bounce and says "and I don't even know WHY you did that! All you can say to me is 'leave'? What the hell did I do to you? Why involve Sanae!?"

Kanako manages to fly above Ail, then looking down on him, she says "you were going to take Sanae away from us! You got her in danger in more than just one occasion. Even by helping her, you put her life in danger."

Ail remembers when Agava first attacked; how that shadow almost killed her.

He lifts his head and shouts "that is still NO REASON to do what you did!"

He fires 5 more red beams at Kanako, who sends one of her large logs straight at him, both dodging each other's attacks, then glaring at each other afterward.

Ail shouts "I know what I have done! Do you think I have peace of mind?"

Kanako glares back at him and says "oh don't give me that crap! You're just like every human. You seek glory, recognition, fame, wealth. You don't really think about others! You just act that way to gain sympathy."

Ail's red energy expands and turns darker as he shouts back "I can't believe this! You talk as if you don't even know me!"

-

From below Ail and Kanako, Suwako watches, still undecided which side to join.

She grabs her hat by its edges and pulls down on it while still staring up, then says "Kanako, you are being cruel. Ail, you need to calm down. Auu~, if I had know this was going to turn out like this..."

By now, Ail has had enough and menacingly says "you make no sense... this all makes no sense to me, but one thing does..."

Ail smiles a twisted smile and says "you want to fight me. Alright, then. LET'S HAVE A FIGHT!"

Kanako smiles and pulls out a spell card, then waits.

Ail pulls out one of his spell cards, but quickly realizes there is no image in it. It's just a blank card.

His red energy expands and turns dark, looking like blood now.

He clenches his hand, crushing the spell card in it and shouts "what the HELL? What the HELL is this!?"

Ail's face twists, making himself look crazed as he points at Kanako, and staring with accusing raged eyes he screams "YOU! You did this, didn't you!?"

Kanako glares back and calmly says "you think too much of me."

Ail rips the crushed spell card apart and tosses it to the ground below, then the blood-red energy expands even more, and in the blink of an eye it start to take a shape.

From below, Suwako stares at it for a moment, then says "wait a minute, I know that... That's a spell from one of the underground dwellers."

The energy around Ail first turns into arced beams that turn to the right, then around the first set, another set of arced beams that turn to the left, then Kanako finds herself being surrounded by so many small blood-red orbs she can't move a finger, then the arced beams are unleashed, scattering and turning into many individual danmaku shards.

Yuugi Hoshiguma's Knockout in Three Steps spell.

As Kanako narrowly dodges the attack, Suwako thinks "how is that possible. He didn't even use a spell card. This is insane, what's going on?"

Kanako has had enough and uses her spell card, shouting "Divine Festival – Expanded Onbashira!"

Kanako quickly realizes Ail's spell isn't cancelled yet, regardless, the logs on her back fly high into the sky as she fires homing blue charms at Ail, making him move straight to where her logs fall to.

Quickly, the logs fall in rhythm, adjacent to each other, until they trap him inside a narrow opening, giving Kanako's charms the change to strike him, successfully canceling his spell after he is hit.

Ail growls after being hit, then glares at Kanako, and after the last log falls, in a blind rage, he flies straight at her in the hopes that some of her own charms will strike her.

To his dismay, his shoes suddenly spring rockets, making him fly too fast, losing control of himself, flying over Kanako's head.

Ail bends his legs and manages to clap his shoes together, making the rockets blow up, hurting him, but successfully stopping.

-

At the Youkai Forest, Sanae sits on a log as she cries.

She stops for a moment and stares at her gohei, then grips it tight and tosses it against some trees.

The gohei makes a soothing sound as it bounces off the trees and falls to the ground, summoning Kogasa.

The youkai stares curiously at Sanae as she slowly descends in front of Sanae, asking "Sanae nee-san? What's the matter? *Gasp* Oh no! I got here too late, didn't I!?"

Sanae turns around, facing away from Kogasa, so the concerned karakasa youkai tries to follow her face, making Sanae turn again and again.

Sanae has enough and shouts "Kogasa, I'm in NO MOOD to be playing with you now!"

Kogasa jumps back with a fright, but quickly recovers and scowls as she says "hey~ you don't have to snap at me like that! I'm just worried about you!"

Sanae stops sobbing and sighs, calming herself down, then wipes her eyes with her sleeves and places her elbows on her thighs, resting her head on her hands.

Kogasa manages to sit next to Sanae just as rain starts pouring down from the sky, using her umbrella to cover herself and the priestess.

Sanae sighs again and says "you really think you know someone, and then the truth hits you hard on the face."

Kogasa blinks twice, staring curiously at Sanae, then asks "huh? What are you talking about, nee-san?"

Sanae lets her hands drop as she lifts her head up, but continues to stare down, then sighs again and says "I learned some very terrible truths about Ail today."

From behind some trees, a familiar voice asks "Ail? Ooh, this sounds juicy!"

Nitori materializes right in front of a tree, then playfully walks closer to the depressed priestess and the surprised youkai, then, while getting wet from the rain she asks "so, what did you learn?"

Sanae asks "since when did my life become public-aww whatever. See this is what happened..."

Meanwhile, above the Moriya Shrine grounds, the rain is making it hard for both Kanako and Ail to fight, but they somehow manage to aim at each other with deadly accuracy.

While firing red knives at Kanako, Ail shouts "Kanako~! This can all stop. Apologize to me and tell Sanae the truth!"

Kanako glares back at Ail after avoiding some daggers, getting grazed by others around her shoulders, though they only manage to cut her clothes.

She shouts back "well, aren't YOU getting cocky. I'm only getting started here!"

Ail holds the blood-red energy on his hands, and after hearing Kanako's reply, the energy expands and he manages to morph it into two large spiked balls, throwing them straight at Kanako's face.

He shouts "then die you!"

He lunges at her with his leg up-front, surrounding it with the red energy and shaping it into a large multi-blade pike.

Kanako dodges both spiked balls, then swerves around Ail just in time and unleashes a barrage of homing daggers with red hilts at his back, managing to stab him multiple times before her crashes on the ground.

Suwako runs to Ail, shouting "Kanako, stop, stop! Ail! Anilan, can you hear me!?"

Suwako yelps when Ail rises from the ground full of wounds and cuts and a large purple bruise on the right side of his forehead.

His eyes now glow blood red and seems he's not even feeling the pain from the wounds.

-

Suwako panics and jumps away, just as he flies back up with that red energy surrounding him.

He flies high enough to meet Kanako's face, then the red energy turns into 7 orbs that spin slowly around him.

Suwako gets up and lifts her head, quickly recognizing the attack.

She shouts "Kanako, that's Fantasy Heaven! Get out of there!!!"

Kanako confidently says "he's just a poor excuse for a weakling. He can't—"

Kanako suddenly feels the aura of the energy around Ail as the orbs spin progressively faster.

The rain intensifies, making it harder to hear Suwako's advice.

Suwako realizes this and says "screw this! I have to stop him!"

Kanako unleashes a log straight at Ail, but the red orbs are spinning so fast and so strongly, they deflect it with ease, flicking it back as if it were a toothpick.

Kanako's face turns blue after noticing the rectangle-shaped bullets that surround her, all coming from the large red orbs spinning around Ail.

At first, she manages to avoid two waves of the rectangular bullets that home in on her, but Ail is not stopping.

More and more waves come straight at her until finally three of those bullets touch her left arm, wrapping themselves around her like amulets, burning her skin.

By now, she realizes the danger she is in, but it's too late, as the last wave heads toward her.

There are so many, they even block the rain from reaching her.

From underneath them they can hear Suwako shouting "Native God - The Red Frog in the Fourth Year of the Houei Era"

Suwako's body splits in three red spirit-like selves, and quickly one of the bodies head straight to Kanako and tackles her away from the blood-red rectangles that are just mere inches away.

The second body flies as fast as it can, releasing many red flog-shaped bullets that cancel Ail's energy.

Suwako takes advantage of the distraction and uses her main body to get close to Ail and tackles him, cancelling his spell successfully.

Kanako shouts "so you finally decided to help?"

Suwako turns around and shouts back "stops this already, or one of you will end up dead!"

Ail glares back at the two goddesses with glow blood-red eyes, then as some water run down his cheeks she shouts "miss Moriya~? Miss Moriya, you too!? Why!?"

Ail grabs his hair with both hands and start pulling down as hard as he can, and sounding crazed he says "no... No, no, no, no, no~! Even lady Moriya! This isn't FAIR~~!!!"

Suwako waves both hands in front of her and nervously says "wait, Ail! Calm down! Stop this!"

Ail screams to the sky, increasing his energy even more, expanding the blood-red energy, making it 10 times his own size.

Sniffling and with a cracked voice he says "you hate me! You hurt Sanae to get to me~~! I'll kill you! I WILL KILL YOU~!"

Kanako gasps and shouts "what's going on!!?"

Suwako shouts back "he's using too much power! Kanako! We have to stop him, NOW!"

Kanako smirks and says to herself "well, if it's for his own good..."

-

At the Forest of Magic, under Marisa's house, Mai and Yuki stand in place, looking scared at each other.

Marisa, who seems to be drawing some symbols on one of the walls, turns around and asks "oy, what's the matter. You see a naked ghost, ze?"

Mai and Yuki rush outside, Yuki shouting "come, come! Something's happening."

Marisa runs up to her house, grabs her broom, then follows after Yuki and Mai outside and up to the sky.

Marisa looks all around and notices all kind of youkai, all staring toward the Youkai Mountain.

She asks "whoa, what's going on here..?"

She feels a pulse of energy and asks "what the heck? This is..."

From behind, Alice shouts "Marisa, Yuki, Mai~!"

Alice, accompanied by Shanghai, Hourai and Shinki, fly straight to Marisa, Yuki and Mai, then Alice says "can you see that? It's amazing! Ail... a half youkai using this much power!"

Shinki worriedly says "oh, to be using this much. I hope he can take it."

Marisa wants to rush straight to the source of the power, but Alice notices, and has Shanghai and Hourai grab her broom, successfully stopping her in her tracks, then waves her finger at her and says "you will not interfere, Kirisame. Just watch."

Shanghai says "mom is smart. She knows what she's saying."

Hourai says "this is a nice broom, miss Marisa."

Marisa stares at the dolls with disgust, then says "Alice has certainly trained you two well. And yes, it IS a nice, broom, da-ze."

Marisa sits on her broom, hovering above her house and looking toward the Youkai Mountain, surrounded by her friends, and many youkai that live all around the forest.

At the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, Mokou and Kaguya are on each other's necks.

It looks like Mokou is about to kill Kaguya when the energy wave from Ail reaches them.

Both girls stop fighting, Mokou releasing Kaguya's neck, then both quietly float above the tall bamboo shoots, then silently stare toward the Youkai Mountain.

From behind them, Reisen and Eirin float up, then Eirin, while staring at the mountain, says "Udonge, it seems we're going to have some work cut out for us."

Reisen nods to her master, however she is unable to turn her head from the mountain as she does.

At the Field of the Sun, Kurumi and Elly are both floating high up, already staring toward the youkai mountain.

Elly asks "whoa, what is that?"

Kurumi adds "that's insane. No living creature can use that much power and stay alive for long."

Yuka continues to stare at Ail's flower, noticing how, after turning blood-red, it starts to shrink down and wither.

Elly asks "miss Yukarin, do you know who's the one using this power?"

Yuka simply replies "that would be Ail."

Elly sweats and trembles as her face turns blue, then says "g...good thing I didn't find him, huh?"

Kurumi stares annoyed at Elly, then says "yeah, after getting beat by those others WEAKER than him."

Yuka closes her parasol, then looks up to the sky and opening her eyes wide with a smile she says "what a specimen that half-human is!"

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu struggles against Budou, who wants to break free from Reimu's arms, shouting "no, let me go! Papa needs me! Papa need me~! *sob*"

Phredia pops from under Budou's hair, startling Reimu a little, who shouts "Phredia, where did you come from!?"

Rika, in an endearing and understanding tone of voice says "Budou, please. You must understand miss Reimu is doing this for your safety! She cares about you."

Budou stops struggling and Phredia quickly hugs her neck as Reimu says "that's right. Look, right now something very dangerous is happening, and if you interfere again, you might end up dead this time. Please, let me put this charm on you. It'll help you relax, and I promise, I'll take it away as soon as everything calms down."

Budou sobs on Reimu's chest, crying "no~ *sob* I want to help papa!"

Reimu softly says "but Budou, you are not strong enough yet. You must understand."

Budou stares at Reimu's eyes with tears in her own, then lowers her head, sobbing some more as Phredia uses her apron to dry the little youkai's tears.

Reimu reaches into her left sleeve and pulls out a light-blue charm, but the moment she reaches for Budou again, the little youkai springs to the air, flapping her wings violently, gaining speed almost instantly.

Reimu shouts "Rika, we have to stop her! Budou, no~! Come back!"

Budou yelps, and when Reimu looks up, Ran and Chen have caught her.

Budou sniffles and says "Ch-Chen... Lady nine-tails."

Ran says "my, Budou. Didn't your mama and papa teach you to listen to the adults?"

Budou sniffles and nods, then, holding Chen's hand, she comes back down, where Phredia immediately flies to her right shoulder and kisses her cheek.

Ran looks at Reimu seriously and asks "what's going on, Reimu?"

From the shrine stairs, Luna asks "yes miss Reimu. Please enlighten us."

At the Misty Lake, Cirno, Daiyousei, Kimi and Kali all hover in the air, all looking toward the Youkai mountain.

Meiling is the last to join in, then asks "what's going on?"

Cirno says "something strange is making my stomach hurt. It's coming from over there." and points toward the Youkai Mountain.

Meiling looks and gasps when she says "oh my... that's mister Ail."

Kimi says "hmm... he's strong... but I can still beat him."

Meiling turns around and asks "really?"

Kimi smirks, then grabs Meiling's inner pants by the thighs then pulls hard on them, ripping them off, making Meiling yelp and cover herself, shouting "hey~! What's the big idea!?"

Kimi shows Meiling her exposed legs and says "you should learn to show more. Be proud!"

Meiling stares back dumbfounded, and can't reply.

Inside the mansion, Remilia, Sakuya, Flandre, Koakuma, Agava and Rumia all stare into a magical ball that sits on a golden stand on Patchouli's desk.

Inside, they see Ail and the goddesses as if they were watching a television.

Remilia crosses her arms, nods, then says "that's impressive, but he still has ways to go before reaching MY level of power."

Sakuya smiles and says "my lady, you are most gracious."

Flandre sticks her tongue out, making as though ready to vomit, then asks "onee-sama, can you taste the crap coming out of your mouth?"

Remilia's mouth opens widely as her eyes hide behind a black shadow, yet continues to stare at Flandre, who casually continues to watch the crystal ball, now showing the entire Moriya Shine, looking as though it's going through a powerful storm.

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou, Phredia, Kyo, Luna, Agava, Kimi, and Kali were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

JAN 17 2010

written by

Willie G.R.


	29. Chapter 28

At the Youkai Forest, Nitori and Kogasa hide themselves under a thick bush, holding Sanae 'hostage'.

Ail's excess energy release has caused an uproar between the kappa and the tengu, and both races are now in the edge of fighting against each other, even under the heavy rain that keeps pouring down from the black and scarlet clouds.

Some tengu look around the bushes they are hiding under, but luck is on their side as a higher ranking tengu flies by and says "you two, come with me!"

One of the low ranked tengu replies "yes ma'am!" then all three leave to the waterfall.

Nitori and Kogasa spring their heads from under the bush, and after spitting out a blade of grass, Nitori says "phew, that was close."

Kogasa adds "thank goodness nee-san didn't start screaming again."

A muffled "get me OUT of here!" from under the bush startles the two girls, then pulling Sanae from underneath them Nitori places a finger in her mouth, shushing Sanae and saying "be quiet! Ail's energy outburst has them all on edge. They'll attack us if they find us!"

Sanae says "I don't care! I want to know what that lecher is doing up there?"

Kogasa says "whoa, nee-san. You shouldn't call him that."

Sanae angrily replies "oh, so you're going to side with him?"

Kogasa covers her head with her hands, and after Sanae stops yelling she peeks with her right blue-greenish eye, then says "I told you, I saw when that maid placed the knife on his neck. None of that ever happened!"

Sanae scoffs and looks away, then says "you're just trying to protect him because he's your food supply."

Kogasa sweats and says "no~! Nee-san, you're being mean."

Sanae sighs, then asks "alright then, tell me what happened?"

Kogasa smiles, then gives Sanae a light hug around her neck, then says "ok, this is what happened. After the maid pulled the knife away, saying something about a spell, they talked and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. The chicken was so surprised I didn't even have to try and surprise him at all. After that, he went inside the house, then I heard him talking to you, and you were screaming, then a small log hit his head."

Sanae looks away, looking slightly annoyed, then says "ha, he didn't even go into his house that night, they did it out... side... wait."

Sanae remembers the day Ail was affected by Patchouli's lust spell.

She remembers how that night, while she was taking a bath, he opened a gap right into the bathtub. Sanae says "wait... He did get inside the house. He opened a gap to peep on me that night. Wait... does this mean that...?"

Kogasa, sounding a little agitated, says "that's what I've been trying to tell you. There's something funny about all that you just told us."

Nitori waves her left finger at Sanae and says "and Hina would never go for a human, or youkai. In fact, if he would have done something like THAT, he'd probably be dead."

Sanae thinks for a moment, then says "y-yeah... I guess you're..." She punches the ground next to her, and with a frown she says "but that still doesn't explain the OTHER things!"

-

At the Moriya Shrine's gate, holding on tightly to the bushes she is trying to hide under so she doesn't get blown away, Hina cries out "this is insane! He's going to destroy himself!"

Beside her, a familiar voice shouts back "AYAYAYAYA~! I can't take pictures like this!"

Surprised, Hina shouts "miss tengu? Since when are you there?"

From beside Aya, Momiji struggles to reach Aya's side using the bushes to pull herself against Ail's energy waves, then shouts "should I report this, lady Aya!?"

Aya shouts back "yes! Tell them it's not the kappa, like I thought!"

Momiji lets go of the bush she was holding on to, and as she's blown away she salutes Aya and shouts "right away~!"

After Momiji leaves, Aya manages to look to the scarlet clouds and shouts "I see rain falling, but I don't feel the water! Can you?"

Hina shouts back "it's the energy pressure. Once he stops, the water will probably..."

The energy pressure stops, letting the held up rain fall hard on the ground, getting both Aya and Hina soaking wet in just a second.

After spitting some water, Aya says "ayayaya... I hope this scoop is worth all this."

Above them, Ail breathes heavily as his body gets used to the power stored inside.

Suwako thinks he's calming down, so with a concerned look on her face she gets closer to him and asks "Ail...? Are you alright now?"

Silent, Ail raises his head with a twisted smile.

Kanako shouts "Moriya, DOWN!"

Suwako drops down just as Ail quickly lifts his arm and releases a fast and powerful blood-red and white beam.

He misses Suwako, so he veers the beam before it reaches the shrine, making it head toward Kanako's back, but the goddess is ready and waits for the very last moment to fly higher, allowing the beam to head straight to Ail himself, along with some more daggers from her, these with violet hilts.

She smirks and says "this should bring him down a notch or two. What the..?"

Kanako's face fills with surprise when Ail allows the beam to his him directly, getting stabbed three times on the chest and once on the shoulder.

He absorbs the beam entirely, then pulls out all the daggers, showing no signs of pain. He glares at Kanako with his angry blood-red eyes, then smirks.

Suwako shouts "how is he doing this!?"

Kanako shouts back "it's like he's possessed again!"

Ail laughs then, with a crazed expression on his face, he answers back "you~ WISH! Kanako... I had so much faith in you. I would have trusted you with my life. Glad I didn't though... And YOU TOO... Suwako... I thought you were my friends."

Tears roll down Ail's cheeks, however he continues to stare with a crazed expression and smiling widely as he continues saying "you could have said something, you know. You could have just hinted me, and poof... I was gone... But this..."

Ail's tears dry up again as he shouts "you hurt Sanae, the one you call FAMILY! All to get to ME!"

He kicks and punches wildly in the air while shouting "AND I'M NOT EVEN WORTH CRYING FOR!!!"

-

Suwako covers her face with her hat, feeling ashamed.

She knows it's not her fault, but she could have easily stopped all of it, but no; like Kanako, she wanted Sanae back with them again.

She clenches her teeth and still hiding under her hat she shouts "Ail, I'm sorry! I... we were being selfish, and I swear, if I had known this would happen...!"

Kanako interrupts Suwako by shouting "don't let him taunt you, you foolish frog!"

Suwako shouts back "Kanako, stop it already!"

Ail floats in mid air, letting his feet, arms and head fall victims of gravity.

He remembers the first time he met Remilia. She wanted his blood and caused some troubles for it.

He thinks "it's my fault." then he remembers how he and Kyo entered her mansion without permission, and how he almost killed Flandre by copying her own power.

He remembers being possessed, but still he thinks "it's all my fault."

After that, he remembers meeting Sanae, the goddesses, then fighting Marisa.

The image of Marisa's Master Spark repeats itself in his mind. At that time, he couldn't hear her declare her spell, but the image of the spell burns into his mind, regardless.

Ail drifts back into consciousness and realizes Suwako is once again close to him, looking worried and asking "Ail? Are you alright? Ail, answer me."

Ail straightens out, then joins both hands together as if holding something, concentrating the blood-red energy between them.

Suwako backs away, joining Kanako again and both goddesses watch as the energy takes the shape of an octagon.

Suwako gasps in horror, but Kanako beats her from shouting "that's the witch's Master Spark!!!"

Ail grabs hold of the octagonal-shaped energy and points it straight at the two goddesses, firing a wide, fast and powerful blood-red beam.

Suwako and Kanako manage to push each other away, effectively dodging the beam in time, however Ail smiles as the beam splits into 8 thinner beams just as it's about to hit the shrine itself.

4 beams home in on Kanako, who flies away from them as fast as she can, while Suwako flies straight to the lake, jumping from log to log, avoiding the beams, making two beams crash against the large logs.

Kanako knows leading the beams toward Ail will be of no use, so instead, she summons a large log and rides it as it heads straight at him.

Ail doesn't move, and doesn't seem he's going to move at all.

Kanako stares at him and thinks "is he really going to let me smash his head so easily? Hmm... I could end this now..."

At the very last moment, Kanako veers the log away from Ail, but manages to blast him with an extra-large green orb, striking his head and cancelling his spell.

Ail reacts to this by generating various extra-large blood-red orbs of his own and sends them all straight at Kanako, blasting her log to pieces, but still missing her directly.

Suwako and Kanako regroup above the red gate and stare back at Ail, who stares back at them with determination and hatred.

-

Down by the Youkai Mountain, Nitori, Sanae and Kogasa continue to hide as more and more tengu seem to be patrolling the area.

It's just a matter of time before they are found now, so Sanae and Kogasa are forming a plan, just in case.

Nitori looks to the waterfall and notices Momiji flying in a hurry towards a superior.

The wolf tengu bows to the crow tengu, then whispers something in her ear.

The superior shouts in a commanding tone "everyone! At ease! It seems the disturbance isn't being caused by the kappa after all. However, there IS someone using this out of control energy up in the mountain. Keep to your posts and do not let ANYONE reach that shrine until the goddesses subdue this individual. Did I make myself clear?"

All the underlings straighten up, salute their leader, then all shout "yes ma'am!"

Nitori whispers "phew! Finally we can get out of here!"

Sanae adds "finally. Geez, today is really becoming a nightmare. First Ail, then this strange energy, then the tengu... and now I can't head back home!"

Momiji notices the small group, and realizing Nitori is with them she decides to go down and greet them.

Before she lands she calls "Nitori, miss wind priestess!"

Nitori and Sanae look up, greeting Momiji after she lands, then the wolf tengu stares at Kogasa and curiously asks "and who are you?"

Kogasa sticks her tongue out and says "how rude. You should tell me your name first, miss Momiji!"

Momiji stares back at Kogasa with surprise, then the karakasa youkai says "well, whatever. I'm Kogasa Tatara! Nice to meet you miss Momiji!"

Momiji sweats as she forces a smile and extends her hand, saying "y-yes. Nice to meet you miss Kogasa."

Sanae suddenly yells "argh, I can't take this! I'm FORCING my way through!"

Momiji grabs Sanae's shoulder, preventing her to charge to the shrine and says "sorry, but it's too dangerous right now. You can't go there."

Sanae snarls at Momiji's hand and forces herself free from her grip, and instead of trying to go to the shrine, she goes to the log and sits on it, tapping her fingers on her cheeks.

Momiji asks "did... I do something?"

Nitori lowers her head a little and says "err, I need to ask you something..."

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, Chen sits next to Budou, rubbing her back as she sobs on the shrine's floor calling for Ail.

Meanwhile, Ran approaches Reimu after helping Rika serve tea and snacks for all 4 of them.

Reimu, in a serious tone of voice says "as much as it hurts to say, Ail is on his own."

Luna smiles dangerously and says "that's all very nice and well. Now tell us what's going on! Kyo and I sent Ail to hell from what you're saying!"

Reimu signals Luna to lower her voice, pointing at Budou with her eyes.

She takes a sip of tea and says "you could say that, though it's not your fault. Shikieiki told me yesterday that Ail would have to undergo a few trials in order to learn a lesson... As to what lesson, she didn't say."

As Reimu continues to speak, at Hakugyokurou, Yukari has a gap opened on top of the battle at the Moriya Shrine, so she, Youmu, and Yuyuko can watch.

Reimu's voice says "she told me that these trials would test his heart, mind and spirit in the most brutal way, so as to prepare him for something. To help him grow, she said."

The scene changes to the Myouren Temple, where Shou, Byakuren and Nue stand on the roof of the temple, looking toward the Youkai Mountain, Byakuren looking dreadfully worried, placing her hands on her chest.

Reimu's voice continues "this may sound cruel, but while Ail goes through this, none of us can help him. Shiki made me swear not to interfere, or she'd have my head."

The scene changes back the small table at the Hakurei Shrine's living room, where Luna looks worried at Reimu and says "great, Kyo's gonna feel responsible for it!"

Reimu nods and calmly says "and that is why I'm telling you this now. Tell Kyo about it. Also tell him that I don't really give a care about how long they've known each other, if he tries to interfere, I will be there to stop him, and so will the yama."

Luna clenches her teeth and bangs on the table with both hands, then gets up and says "if you'll excuse me... I'll be relaying these horrible news to Kyo, then. Good day."

She storms away, leaving her tea untouched on the table.

Reimu sighs and says "Ran, you realize we are also missing one last shadow, correct?"

Ran bows her head and says "lady Yukari searched everywhere after dealing with miss Yuyuko's shadow, but she couldn't find her."

Rika asks "miss Reimu, do you really think that after all this time she's still alive?"

Reimu looks at Rika with strict eyes and says "I don't think so, I'm sure of it! And if she's like the other shadows, her powers and abilities are the opposite of Sanae's."

Reimu stares into her tea and remembers Shikieiki's last words before she left.

In Reimu's mind, Shikieiki says "don't look so grim, Reimu. You know that each and every soul is bound to go through heavy trials, even if just once in life. Just like you, when you had to train by yourself in order to be able to use your charms and amulets to defend yourself from the many youkai attacking the shrine. To be able to use the shrine's yin-yang orbs; to learn how to fly."

Reimu chuckles and in a sarcastic tone says "oh, those where the days."

Shiki giggles and says "don't worry. I'm sure he can pass all these trials. It's part of life, after all."

Reimu returns from her memories and takes another sip of tea as Rika asks "miss Reimu, are you sure you're alright?"

-

Above the Moriya Shrine, Ail is having trouble aiming because of the heavy downpour of rain that continues to fall on him, blinding him every time water sprinkles into his eyes, fueling his rage every time.

Suwako and Kanako easily dodge each and every barrage of blood-red orbs he keeps sending, however, Suwako looks agitated.

She desperately shouts "Kanako, we have to stop him! If he keeps getting angry like this, he's going to end up a cursed spirit!!"

Kanako looks worriedly toward Ail, but doesn't say a word until Ail stops shooting and closes his eyes, then she shouts "look, now's our chance!"

She pulls out a spell card and shouts "Divine Husk - Divining Crop" immediately unleashing green, red and blue sets of large oval bullets that shrink to small shards just as they reach Ail, but not a single bullet makes it past a strange aura that surrounds him.

Suddenly, the blood-red energy around Ail spreads out around him and takes the shape of countless small shards that surround him, making the pattern of a star inside a circle, then the shards rain down toward the two goddesses with great speed.

At the SDM, Remilia furiously grabs the crystal ball with both hands, violently shaking it in the air and shouting "that's my spell, you thief!!! That's scarlet Netherworld!"

Back above the Moriya Shrine, though the spell continues to rain down on the goddesses, Ail is floating in the center of it all with his eyes closed.

Inside his mind he remembers the second battle he had with Remilia.

He remembers how he couldn't hear the full spell declarations, thinking he was going deaf.

While inside his memory, a familiar voice says "Ail, you have to calm down. You are using way too much power. Your body's going to break in pieces. Hell, your heart is about to explode."

Ail calmly asks "Mima...? Mima, is that you? Where are you? Where am I? What am I doing?"

Mima replies "Ail, we are inside your mind. Please, just listen to me! You need to—"

Ail calmly says "oh... that's right. Someone hurt me. The pain is unbearable. But I'm sure it's all my fault again. I should let myself die."

Mima angrily shouts "what kind of talk is that!? Ail, what about those that care about you. What about B—"

Above the shrine, Kanako has managed to cancel Ail's spell by now, waking him up after she stabs him again with a dagger on the shoulder.

Looking as though he's calm, he takes the dagger and pulls it out without flinching.

He stares at the blood on the blade as rain water cleans it away, and slowly wakes up.

Kanako shouts "Ail, you listen to me, and you listen good! Stop this right now before you seriously hurt someone.!"

Ail stares back in a somber state but doesn't reply.

Kanako continues "do you know WHY I want Sanae to leave you so badly!? Ail, use your head! Ever since you came into Gensokyo, all you've caused is trouble after trouble. Every life you've touched falls into the abyss all thanks to your foolishness!"

Ail clenches his teeth and slowly reaches for his head with his hands, trying to cover his ears.

Kanako continues "sure, you've saved them all and brought them back from the darkness, but you mere PRECENSE makes them fall into the abyss once more! Do you think I'd want Sanae with someone as dangerous as you!?"

From below, Suwako shouts "Kanako, what the hell are you trying to do!?"

Suwako flies straight up to Kanako and grabs her by the neck of her shirt, pulling her close to her own face and angrily saying through her teeth "you're going to drive him insane! Stop that!"

Kanako whispers "I'm trying to make him see the error of his way of thinking! Look, he stopped attacking!"

Suwako shouts "but he's not calming down at all!"

-

Ail holds his ears tightly, writhing around while hovering in place and in a crazed voice shouting "it's all my fault... It's all my fault!! No, no, that's a LIE! Kanako is LYING!"

From his own body, a thick, powerful, but slow blood-red and white beam heads toward both goddesses.

Confidently, Kanako moves just slightly as the slow beam passes by.

Suwako, however, stares with fright, and just as the sound of thunder echoes loudly all over the mountain, causing the entire shrine to rumble slightly, Ail's beam suddenly explodes in multiple areas, catching Kanako off guard.

Kanako holds her arm, screaming in pain and shouting "it burns! What the hell is this!?"

The clothes around Kanako's arms melts as her skin continues to burn, but thanks to the heavy raining, her skin soothes just as the area around it starts turning red.

Suwako manages to narrowly dodge the shower of oval bullets that follow after the successive explosions, and after escaping the last one she immediately heads toward Kanako, grabs her arm, and inspects it thoroughly.

She looks at Kanako with a frightened expression and says "he's cursing. Kanako, that's a curse. Don't let it touch you."

Kanako pulls her arm back to her chest, and with a tear in her left eye she shouts "thanks for the advice!"

Ail has risen higher on the air, and as he flies around, exploding orbs of blood-red energy drop from his very body.

He looks down and with a crazed voice, he shouts "you're going to pay! You lied about me, hurt Sanae, betrayed me, and now you want to kill me. You're even making me think I am bad... I'm not bad!! I won't kill myself! I won't let myself die!"

Ail remembers again about Kanako's mirror, and the way Sanae looked at him after looking into it.

He ignores Suwako, then goes after Kanako, shouting "you're going to pay for what you have done!!"

Kanako flies away from him as fast as she can, avoiding the many blood-red beams Ail shoots at her.

Suwako panics, shouting "no, Ail! Don't kill her!"

She flies after him and pulls a spell card from under her hat and shouts "Divine Tool – Moreya's Iron Rings!"

Using the momentum of the speed she's going, she tosses various iron rings to her front and underneath herself.

Ail is just about to catch up to Kanako, shouting "I GOT YOU NOW!" when thunder and lightning strike together, startling Ail and making him stop abruptly.

5 iron rings strike him hard, one on the legs, two on the chest, one on the back, and the last one on the back of his head, forcing him to fall to the ground below.

Ail manages to keep himself from crashing on the ground, then looks up at the two goddesses.

Both are right on top of him, so he summons the red energy to him, and in a sudden outburst the energy rises up forming a giant red cross, and at the same time, he fires blood-red spears at them using the blood from the knife wounds.

At the SDM, Remilia stares in complete shock at the crystal ball as Ail combines two of her spell cards.

Patchouli, though sounding calm, trembles and sweats lightly as she says "Scarlet Devil, and Spear of the Gungnir. He's combining two very powerful spells. Look... his skin is turning red."

Remilia changes her expression, looking seriously into the magic ball, then says "his body can't handle the stress. He is going to die."

-

At the Hakurei Shrine, the rain from the Youkai Mountain finally reaches the shrine.

Budou starts crying and calling for her papa again while Chen tries to calm her down with a light hug, and Phredia hovers next to Budou's face, glowing aquamarine.

Reimu and Ran stand on the shrine porch, watching the rain as it falls on the ground hard, making a loud noise as it crashes on the ground and on the shrine's roof.

Reimu senses something from behind her and quickly turns around.

Ran turns around after Reimu and says "I see. I believe it's for the best."

Reimu nods and says "It's really hard to see her like that. Almost makes me want to cry with her."

Phredia flies in circles just above Budou and Chen, placing both in a deep sleep, then flies toward Reimu, who instinctively raises her hand to chest-height, allowing Phredia to rest on it.

Ran smiles sadly toward Reimu and says "at this rate, his body will be destroyed in no time."

Reimu sighs and places Phredia against her chest, then says "no... I don't think so."

She looks up to the ceiling and says "this might not end well, but he'll survive. You'll see. You hear me, Mima? He's going to survive."

Mima materializes out of nowhere, revealing herself as she sits next to the small table holding her hat against her chest, then asks "you really think so?"

Rika is placing a blanket over Budou and Chen as she tenderly says "if miss Reimu says he's going to live, I believe he'll live."

Mima manages a weak smile and slowly calms down. She looks at Reimu, lightly gasps, then asks "Reimu? What are you...?"

Reimu is sitting on the floor with her legs crossed under her skirt and Phredia resting on her lap as she closes her eyes and places her hands together in prayer while holding an amulet.

While still concentrating, Reimu says "I'm going to try something. Remember, that bracelet of his has a blessing from my shrine, so perhaps..."

Above Marisa's house at the Forest of Magic, Alice holds Marisa's broom, and Marisa shouts from the ground "fine! If you're not giving my broom back, I'm going to your house and taking all your books!"

Alice tosses the broom back at Marisa and says "stop whining so much and let me watch!"

Marisa angrily enters her house while grumbling "watch what? That battle's too far away anyway, so how can she 'watch' anything?"

After Marisa closes the door behind her, Shanghai startles Alice after shouting "grandma! What's wrong?"

Alice turns around and sees Shinki with her eyes closed while still floating.

Alice exclaims "mom, what's wrong?"

Mai, Yuki and Alice all surround Shinki, all looking very concerned at her, but Shinki calms them down, saying "shh shh, it's alright. I'm only praying for his safety."

Mai asks "you mean Ail?"

Shinki smiles whiles still concentrating and says "yes. It's even easier with the blessing in that bracelet of his."

On the Myouren Temple's roof, Minamitsu holds Byakuren by her shoulders as she says "so much pain. He's suffering."

Shou stands up and closes her eyes, saying "miss Hijiri, I'm going to try and help him. I don't know how much I can do, but at least I can help keep him alive."

Byakuren lifts her head to look at Shou, then smiles and says "thank you so much."

Behind them, Nazrin sits next to Ichirin and says "I told you guys, he's an insane human... but to overdo it the way he is now...?"

Nue smiles and says "nobody's perfect."

-

Back at the Moriya Shrine, Ail continue combining both of Remilia's spells, causing a vacuum effect on the goddesses with "Scarlet Devil", and firing more than one "Spear of Gungnir" at the same time, using the blood from his wounds.

His skin is turning purple, his hands swell up, his entire body hurts, but he doesn't stop; he continues to attack, regardless of the pain.

Above, Suwako and Kanako struggle with all their might as they avoid being sucked into the large cross, and managing to dodge the bloody spears, and just like that, it all stops.

Suwako looks down and asks "what's going on now?"

The rain subsides, now only a light sprinkle falls, allowing the goddesses to see Ail's bracelet forming an aquamarine barrier around him, effectively trapping the blood-red energy inside of it, and regulating it so it doesn't kill Ail.

Suwako gasps and shouts "the bracelet!"

Kanako shouts back "let's do it!"

Both goddesses close their eyes, cross their legs, and expand their arms as if in meditation.

Back down below, Ail struggles against the bracelet, grunting "what... is going on... here!?"

His bracelet does the familiar droplet sound, and now, all the symbols in it start to glow in order.

The frog, the snake, the tiger, Pandemonium, and last, the yin-yang orb symbol inside the crystal.

Ail panics and tries to take the bracelet off, shouting "I won't let you kill me!"

The aquamarine energy molds itself into Ail's shape, then compresses itself until it's right on top of his skin, then gets absorbed, restoring Ail's natural skin color, though Ail feels as though he has been squeezed by an industrial trash compactor.

He kneels on the ground, trembling and unable to move.

Kanako rushes toward him, shouting "let's take him out now!"

Suwako shouts in a panic "no wait!"

As she rushes to him, she prepares various large green orbs, all in straight lines of 5, and using the momentum, she fires all straight at him.

Ail raises his head just as the large bullets hit the ground next to him, raising thick curtains of dust.

Kanako smiles, having made a direct hit, and landing after the last three lines of bullets strike him she shouts "finally! This was more of a hassle than I would have imagined. Still, we took care of him. Right Suwako..? Suwako?"

Kanako looks up just as Suwako crashes backward against her.

Both goddesses recover quickly and look up, spotting Ail, who glares back at them with glowing blood-red eyes, and in a mad tone of voice he says "this is incredible... You got everyone else against me! Who ELSE saw that lying crap?"

Kanako unwisely replies "does it matter? Ail, you're an outsider. One that's like a catastrophe magnet! You should just leave so we can all live in peace!"

Ail starts sobbing, clenching his teeth and scowling in order to hide his sadness.

Memories of the lust spell reach his mind, and remembers when Mirida, Nia and Kikiru made him judge that contest, however, instead of seeing Mirida as she was back then, he sees her as the undead vampire he fought the day before.

In his mind he shouts "no! It's all my fault! I killed her!"

Mima's voice desperately says "no, it's not! It was that shadow!"

Ail asks "and who CREATED those shadows!?"

Mima replies "no, don't block me off! Ail? Ail, are you listening!?"

At the Hakurei shrine, just after Reimu opens her eyes and gets up from the ground, Mima sighs loudly and says "he's not listening."

Reimu looks outside, admiring how the heavy rain falls hard on the ground, then says "we've done all that we can."

The rain subsides, then Reimu looks up and notices a large gap between some of the clouds, showing a bit of sunlight shining through, then smiles and says "and I think it's more than enough."

-

Above the Moriya Shrine, Ail hovers in place, remembering the small fight he had with Aya.

He remembers taunting her, and calling her "slow" then remembers the spell she used afterwards.

While the image of Aya's "Illusionary Dominance" spell runs over and over in his mind, a translucent image of Sakuya glaring at him, while her "Misdirection" spell mixes with Aya's, runs through his mind.

Outside his thoughts, just as Suwako is about to try and catch him, he darts away at speeds that rivals that of Aya's.

Down by the gate, Aya takes a few pictures as Ail leaves a trail of blood-red beams as he zigzags above the goddesses, then says to Hina "that's my 'Illusionary Dominance' spell. But I didn't see him use a spell card. Did you?"

Hina shakes her head and says "I am not sure how, but I think he's copying them from memory."

Aya stares curiously at Hina as she says "every time he uses a spell, I see many curses looming over his head. It's just a guess, but..."

Aya looks back up and starts taking pictures after she gasps and says "wait, that's not my spell alone!"

As Ail flies around the goddesses as such speeds, leaving behind a blood red beam that showers a few danmaku shards, he also places blood-red colored knives all around.

Kanako doesn't wait around for the knives to start moving and uses a log as a bat to swat away the knives, while avoiding the light danmaku shower.

Suwako sighs loudly and say "it's no use. Kanako, you really hurt him, and now he's beyond reasoning."

Kanako simply replies "be quiet and help me out here!"

Suwako softly growls, but ignores Kanako and grabs a spell card from under her hat, and after raising it above her head, she shouts "Native God – Froggy Braves the Elements!"

The knives start to move straight toward the goddesses, but Suwako sprays a lot of water, danmaku orbs and shards all around, successfully stopping Ail's attacks, and Ail himself, splashing him with divine water on the face and startling him to a stop.

Ail yelps and starts to desperately wipe the water away from his face with his hands, and while still unleashing her spell Suwako shouts "Kanako, now!"

Kanako replies "on it!", and rushes to the distracted Ail with her log on her hands.

Suwako shouts "not that you idiot!", but it's too late, and Kanako strike him hard on the back of his neck, forcefully sending him down on the ground, close to where Aya and Hina are.

Suwako cancels her spell and grabs Kanako by her shirt, then starts shaking her violently while shouting "dammit Kanako, I meant for you to CAPTURE him, no kill him!"

Kanako manages to reply "heEeEe iS FINEe~!"

Down by the gate, Aya hurriedly takes as many pictures as she can at where Ail has fallen, however there is too much dust rising from the wrecked floor and neither she or Hina see Ail already standing and staring back at them until it's too late.

Hina and Aya freeze when they realize Ail's glare is upon them; the hate-filled blood-red eyes staring accusingly straight at them.

Ail calmly asks "are you going to kill me?"

Aya stays quiet, but Hina quickly springs up, revealing herself from under the bushes as she says "Ail, we would never do that. Right miss Aya?"

Aya looks at Hina, then says "r-right. We-we're just..."

Ail turns around to face the goddesses again as he calmly says "then stay away." and floats back up to the sky, expanding his arms beside himself.

-

As he rises back up to meet the goddesses once more, he remembers how Budou got caught by Reimu's "Fantasy Heaven", and how after that, he and Sanae went to look for her at a horrible world where Sanae almost lost her life, if it hadn't been for one of Suwako's protections.

He remembers how despair got the best of him after all the demons learned of their presence, right after finding Budou.

He remembers how Nazrin glared at him after Captain Murasa rescued them, and then remembers the fight they had.

He starts to think about her two spells, "Rare Metal Detector" and "Nazrin Pendulum".

Outside his memories, Ail is again surrounded by the blood-red energy, but it quickly takes the shape of three large shards that spin around him, releasing many smalls shards as they spin around, and two batons that Ail himself holds on to his hands, releasing many beams all around himself, that after reaching a certain point shatter and turn into small oval bullets that spread widely.

Kanako and Suwako have a hard time dodging so many bullets and find themselves overwhelmed.

Kanako desperately pulls out a spell card, but it's too late as the bullets are a mere inch away from them... then stop.

Kanako and Suwako float in the air with their backs pressed against each other, trembling at the sight of the blood-red bullets mere inches away from their faces.

When they realize the attack has stopped they stop trembling and immediately move away from the bullet concentration after spotting some gaps between the bullets.

After safely getting away they look to Ail, who hovers in place as his body is entirely surrounded by the blood-red aura, and only a pair of glowing scarlet eyes can be seen through the waving energy.

He stares at them, then calmly asks "why hurt Sanae the way you did? Why not confront ME directly?"

Before Kanako can open her mouth, Suwako jumps on her neck and covers her mouth with her hands and replies "Ail, we really are sorry! We were just jealous!"

Ail's eyes glow blood-red, then Suwako hurriedly continues "you have to understand, we care a lot about Sanae. She's like our daughter, Ail. To us... you were taking her away from us! How would you feel if someone came and took Budou away from you?"

Ail's glare suddenly vanishes, the blood-red energy starts diminishing, revealing his surprised expression.

Suwako continues "see? You understand. Look, why don't you calm down so we can sort this out. I'll explain everything to Sanae, and then... we can work something out."

By now, all the blood-red energy is almost gone, and Ail's face slowly returns to normal.

Suwako lets go of Kanako's mouth who immediately says "you forgot to mention how he blinds Sanae to the point of ignoring us. How she no longer cares about us, and how she rather spend time with him, rather than with us, and helping us gather faith."

Suwako strikes Kanako's head as hard as she can and with clenched teeth she says "dammit Kanako, why can't you keep QUIET!?"

Ail's face saddens, his eyes start glowing again, and tears start coursing through his cheeks, stinging him as the cut on his left cheek gets some tears in it.

The pain effectively fuels him with rage as it reminds him of Sanae again, when she was looking into the mirror.

He raises his head and glares at the goddesses again and says "no... after what you did... talking will not solve this. I must... I must..."

Memories of Agava, back when she was trying to kill everybody, course through his mind.

He remembers how she almost killed Chen, and how she badly damaged Mima.

In his mind he says "it's all your fault. Kanako is right. You should leave Gensokyo. It's the only reasonable thing to do, Ail."

Outside his mind, Ail grabs his head with both hands and shouts "NO! SHE'S LYING!"

Inside his mind he says "oh yeah? What about stranding Maribel in Makai, having opened that gap in her heart, experimenting as if you were some expert, when you were CLEARLY not. Face it, Ail... No matter how much good you try to do, you end up causing more incidents than you're worth."

Outside his mind he shouts "NO~! I am NOT the cause.. I..."

-

At the Youkai Forest, Minoriko blushes and covers her cheeks with her hands, saying with a giggle "no way~! I'd NEVER do something like that. I don't even like him like that!"

Shizuha stands blushing and smiling nervously next to Sanae, calmly saying "what kind of people do you think me and nee-san are? We're gods anyway. We wouldn't do that with a human, EVER."

Sanae's eyes hide under her hair and a dark shadow as she smiles widely, and as a small spirit escapes from inside her mouth she says "she even asked the village's teacher..."

Blushing bright red while looking serious, Momiji clears her throat as she approaches Sanae and says "and there you have it. If you want, I can go to the Bamboo Forest and get the alien's stories too!"

Sanae springs up and holds Momiji by her shoulders, desperately shaking her and shouting "no, NO! I get it already!"

Sanae sits back down on the log and stares at her bandaged left hand and says "but after what I said to him... after what I did. Do you guys think he'll forgive me?"

Kogasa and Nitori sit beside Sanae, and at the same time they place a hand on her shoulders, then Nitori says "of course he will. He's your friend."

Kogasa adds "more than that even. Just be true to your words, nee-san."

Sanae smiles and looks up the mountain, then says "looks like things settled down. I guess I better get going... but UUU~! When I get my hands on Kanako! Why'd she have to do something like that?"

Kogasa is just about to say something when a powerful and explosive energy wave strikes them hard and pushes them all back, all the way outside the forest itself, along with some tengu, kappa, fairies and youkai from the forest.

Sanae gets up on her knees and shouts "what the hell was that just now!!?"

Kogasa is already on her feet and extends her right hand to Sanae while holding her umbrella with her left, letting it rest on her shoulder.

Staring seriously at Sanae she says "Sanae nee-san, let's go!"

Sanae nods and quickly grabs Kogasa's hand.

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu gets up from the floor after the explosive energy reaches the shrine and immediately checks on Budou and Chen.

After seeing they are still sleeping with their backs against each other, she sighs with relief, then says "Mima, check it out!"

Immediately, Mima sits up and closes her eyes.

Rika and Ran stare at Mima along with Reimu, then Mima gasps in horror and says "he's mixing all sort of spells together. Reimu, he could destroy Gensokyo's barrier with this!"

Reimu bites on her thumb and says "shit! I'm sorry, Shikieiki, but he's gone TOO far!"

Before Reimu reaches the door leading outside, Shikieiki and Komachi stand firmly, blocking Reimu, then Shiki says "don't!"

Reimu shouts back "don't give me lip! He's messing with Gensokyo! I'm going to stop him!"

Shikieiki raises her voice and says "REIMU!!! Trust me, if I wasn't sure, I wouldn't stop you. You know that."

Reimu tries to find an excuse so the yama and her shinigami would have to move, but she can't find any, so she sighs and says "if you're sure, then I won't argue with you."

Shiki looks at Budou and Chen, then smiles tenderly and says "those two hold the answer to all of this. Innocence is such a wonderful thing. So pure, so white."

Phredia immediately flies from under a pile of pillows that fell on top of her and flies straight to Budou, landing on her shoulder and patting her head.

-

Above the Moriya Shrine, Ail hovers with his arms extended beside his torso, shaking violently as he causes a vacuum, all caused by a conflict of energies and emotions running though his heart.

While doing her best not to get sucked in, Suwako shouts to Kanako "look what you did now~!"

Ail's voice echoes loudly as his body turns completely black and only his eyes glow blood-red.

He says "I understand. Kanako and Suwako wanted to save Sanae from me. I truly understand. Alright... I'll play the villain. If you two righteous goddesses can kill me before I destroy Gensokyo, then you were right. If not... well, I'll deal with it afterwards. Now..."

A powerful and explosive band of clear energy expels form Ail, breaking the seal made by the blessing in his bracelet, unleashing the blood red energy, again expanding 10 times his own size again, then takes the shape of 6 demonic wings, 3 pairs on each side of Ail's back, then 4 large beams fall straight to the ground, followed by smaller beams and orbs, all raining down hard on to the ground, breaking it effectively; Shinki's "God Recitation" also known as Byakuren's "Devil Recitation".

Before Suwako and Kanako fly up, the energy continues to morph.

First, 7 orbs circle Ail, three large shards join the orbs, then a large clock, then an octagonal shape forms above Ail, then small rods appear on his hands, a red beam zips around, then a large cross forms up.

Suwako shouts "he's using every single spell he's used so far. Kanako, we have no other choice!"

Kanako quietly nods, staring concerned at Ail.

The goddesses fly up, then find themselves being chased by a blood-red incarnation of Ail.

Suwako shouts "he's using 'The Red Frog in the Fourth Year of the Houei Era'?"

Kanako shouts "move and concentrate your blessings on to my logs!"

Suwako quickly replies "alright!"

Sanae and Kogasa fly above the tengu's mountain, hoping they can go through undetected, but three crow tengu spot them, and with a loud "halt", they stop.

Sanae shouts "out of our way! We have to go to the shrine."

One of the tengu shouts "you shall not pass!"

Kogasa and Sanae stare at each other, determined to go through, but before either does anything, Momiji comes from behind and shouts "let them through! They are the only ones that can stop this now!"

The tengu look suspiciously at Momiji, so she looks at them fiercely and says "Aya is up there, and these two are the only hope she has now. Either let them through.." she unsheathes her sword "...or I'll MAKE you move."

The tengu seem to ready themselves for a fight, but quickly spread apart, allowing Kogasa and Sanae through.

The tengu to the far right says "if they don't fix this, you are going to be in serious trouble."

Momiji sheathes her sword and says "then I should be fine."

-

Above the destroyed grounds of the Moriya Shrine, Kanako and Suwako continue to fly away from the blood-red Ail, while blessing a colossal log that hovers just above Kanako's head.

When they are done with the blessing, Ail's red embodiment is pushed away and falls straight to where the beams and orbs are falling to.

Suwako thinks "I'm sorry Ail, but you give us no other choice."

Kanako flies higher while Aiming her gigantic log, then shouts "ready!?"

Suwako shouts back "let's do it already!"

Without their notice, bullets of many shapes and sizes all surround them as they concentrate on Ail.

Ail's skin has swollen, has turned purple, and he's bleeding lightly through his mouth and nose.

His scream echoes as the octagonal shape above him unleashes a thick and powerful beam downward, breaking the ground underneath even more.

Inside his mind he says "well, you did it, Ail. You destroyed Gensokyo."

He replies to himself in his mind "it hurts. It hurts so much. My arms feel like their full of lead. Help me."

Mima's voice comes through, saying "you first have to calm down."

Like a lost child having found safety, Ail says "Mima... Mima, I'm so sorry. I can't stop... It hurts. Please make it stop."

Mima strictly says "then just calm down. Ail, you have to realize that just because so many bad things happen around you, doesn't mean you are the cause!"

Ail replies "but... ever since I came into Gensokyo..."

Mima quickly interrupts him, saying "you've made lots of friends, saved lives, helped others. And what about Budou!?"

Outside his mind, Ail's eyes quickly return to normal, and the beams stop.

Inside his mind, Mima says "what are we supposed to tell when after you blow yourself up?"

Outside his mind, Ail whispers "B... Budou."

The orbs stop falling, and all the blood-red energy around Ail slowly vanishes, then his skin slowly turns back to normal.

Inside his mind, Mima says "I know it seems all you've done are bad things, but did you ever think about Budou?"

Ail replies "but... that time at Makai..."

Mima quickly says "you saved her, remember? But stop thinking of the past... think about now. What about Budou NOW?"

Ail replies "she'd be better off without me."

Mima replies "WRONG!!! She's been crying for you all this time. Ail, it took a lot of effort to calm her down. In the end, the only way she stopped crying was after Phredia placed a sleeping spell on her."

For a moment, Ail's mind is quiet, then he says "you're right, Mima... I... was being selfish."

Mima chuckles and says "finally. Welcome back."

Ail replies "thanks."

Outside his mind, Ail feels drained of all energy as he looks around and notices how badly destroyed the shrine grounds are. He sighs and says "look at this mess... *sigh* Perhaps it really is best if I..."

Suwako and Kanako have Ail on their sights and are ready to release the colossal log, but Suwako hesitates and says "wait... Kanako. He's stopped. Look, he's just floating there."

Kanako says in a panic "oh really? Look around!!"

Scarlet colored oval and rectangular bullets slowly fly toward them, convincing Suwako that he's still attacking, so she clenches her eyes and shouts "Ail, I'm sorry!"

Kanako shouts "SUWAKO, NOW!"

-

Above the Forest of Magic, all the youkai, wet from the rain, slowly head back down to the forest.

Before Yuki and Mai head back down, Alice comments "he managed all that power and somehow, he didn't die."

Yuki and Mai stare at each other, then back at Shinki, who seems ready to start crying, then she says "you're wrong *sob*."

Alice asks "mom? What are you talking about?"

At the Garden of the Sun, sounding almost disappointed, Yuka says "and so it ended like that, huh? Figures."

She looks at the wilted flower that once used to be the size of a large house and says "oh... that... That explains it."

Elly and Kurumi come down to the ground, Elly saying "my, that Ail is scary. But I wonder why he stop so suddenly? Miss Yukarin?"

Elly and Kurumi stare at Yuka, who continues to smile in a carefree manner, then opens her parasol and covers her face with it, however, from inside the parasol, one small drop of water falls to the ground below, making a few small flowers bloom and die in just one second.

At the Myouren Temple, Shou holds Byakuren as she continues to hold her chest with her hands, saying "no, we need to help him. He's going to come here, you'll see."

Nazrin asks "why do you want to help him so much?"

Shou answers "wouldn't you want to help someone who's heart no longer beats?"

Nazrin looks at Shou curiously, then looks toward the Youkai Mountain and says "but... he's alive."

At the Misty Lake, still covering herself with her hands after having her underpants ripped off, Meiling says "well, it's over. Phew, for a moment there I thought he was really dead there."

Kali looks at Kimi, who continues to stare toward the mountain, and asks "what's up with you?"

Kimi smiles and says "a human as resistant as that should be fun to play with..."

Kali sweats and says "geez, never mind I asked."

Inside the SDM, Patchouli and Remilia continue to stare into her crystal orb, same as in Hakugyokurou, where Yukari, Yuyuko and Youmu continue to stare into the gap, all looking silently as Ail hovers in place.

Suddenly, Remilia gasps and Patchouli opens her eyes a little wider than usual, saying "oh no."

Yuyuko's eyes are surrounded in a blue shade as she gets up and tries to enter the gap, however, Youmu and Yukari hold on to her, Yukari shouting "not now! Yuyuko, not now!"

-

Above the Moriya Shrine, Ail looks at his hands and notices all the dried and fresh blood on them.

He inspects his body and flinches when he touches the dagger wounds from Kanako, unaware that the two goddesses are just about to unleash their finishing attack.

He turns his face toward Kanako and Suwako, after hearing Suwako shouting "Ail, I'm sorry!" and Kanako shouting back "SUWAKO, NOW!"

Ail opens his eyes wide, terrorized at the size of the log and the power stored inside of it.

He knows he doesn't have to energy to even defend himself, but summoning all his willpower he manages to dodge the log at the very last second, realizing it is now headed straight toward Sanae, who has just landed with Kogasa on the remainder of the shrine's courtyard.

Ail shouts "SANAE!" and somehow manages to fly as fast as Aya would.

The goddesses realize what is happening, but all they can do is watch and hope for Sanae's safety.

Getting ahead of the giant log, Ail gets in the way and summons a thin barrier.

Sanae exclaims "Ail. You're alright! What the-?"

Sanae's face fills with terror as the log crashes on Ail's weak barrier.

The barrier shatters like cheap glass and the log crashes on to Ail's forearms, making a loud crunching sound that makes everyone, even the goddesses' eyes to fill with horror.

Ail yelps in pain but manages to summon enough energy to push the log away, regardless of the pain he's feeling, then is sent flying alongside it.

The log crashes against a tree, stopping in its tracks, but Ail continues to fly all the way back to the shrine's gates, and upon crashing on the ground, he continues to roll all the way until her crashes with his belly against the large red gate, spitting out a bit of blood afterward.

From the bushes beside the gate, Aya shouts "HOLY!! That's not good!"

Hina springs up and runs toward Ail, saying "this is terrible. Miss Aya, let's help him!"

Suwako flies as fast as she can, Kanako following after her, heading straight toward Ail with terrorized faces.

Sanae stands horrorstruck, her face turning blue at the sight of Ail rolling around the ground like a tossed doll.

When he crashes against the gates, she finally reacts and calls for him as she rushes to him, Kogasa looking equally terrorized as she follows Sanae.

Miraculously, Ail, using his left arm, pushes himself up and quickly realizes his right arm is purple and swollen up like a balloon.

At first, he stares at it, feeling fear as he stares at the limp arm, until the pain finally reaches him.

Before anyone can reach him he screams in agony for a moment, and panting heavily he picks up his right arm with his left and cautiously rests it against his chest, then forces himself up.

He notices all the concerned faces all around him, however he is frightened. He thinks they are there to finish him off, so he just stands there, staring back at them, awaiting for anyone to make a move.

Sanae slowly approaches him and worriedly she softly asks "Ail? Are you alright?"

When Sanae takes a second step toward him, looking frightened and sounding even more frightened he shouts "GET AWAY!"

He opens up a small gap and without hesitation he jumps inside, escaping the Moriya Shrine.

Sanae drops to her knees and starts to sob, then Suwako places her hand on the Sanae's shoulder and says "now it's not the time!"

Aya adds "we need to find him!"

Kogasa asks "but where do you think he went?"

Sanae sobs "I-I don't know."

When they all turn around, they notice Kanako is already gone.

Suwako gulps, then says "go in groups. I'll catch up to Kanako."

Sanae, in a saddened undertone says "lady Yasaka... All of this... Why?"

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Luna, Budou, Phredia, Kali & Kimi were created by Willie G.R.

Shiki's "Great Magic - God's Recitation" spell card was created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

JAN 20 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.


	30. Chapter 29

Just before the exit to the Youkai Forest, a small gap opens up, and from inside Ail jumps out, falling on the ground on his back.

His entire face twists in agonizing pain upon landing on the ground; the shock of the impact reaching his broken right arm.

He can hear voices nearby, so ignoring the pain, he sits up and springs to his feet, immediately hiding behind some trees.

Not too far ahead, Nitori, the Aki sisters, and a couple of tengu are having a discussion about the events with the unsettling energies from the shrine at the mountain top.

Ail thinks they are setting up an ambush, but thankfully, there is a trail of trees he can hide behind while he escapes.

He's about to move when he spots Kanako flying above them, looking grimly all around.

Nitori and Shizuha call for her, but she hurries away, shouting "sorry, I'm looking for Ail now!"

The small group stares confused at the goddess, and shortly after, Suwako lands and hurriedly asks "have you guys seen Ail, or Kanako?"

Ail can see great concern in her eyes as she awaits the answer.

Minoriko says "Ail? No, we haven't seen him. We did see Kanako. She hurried away, headed in that direction."

Minoriko points east, then Suwako sighs and says "thanks... I better go after her."

Shizuha shouts "now wait just a minute! What's going on around here!? First the green maiden tells us some nasty stories about Ail, there's been a mess of heavy energies coming from YOUR shrine, and now you're all looking for Ail!"

Suwako sweats and says "look, I'll explain everything next time. Right now, I have to find him, or Kanako. I'm sorry!"

Suwako lifts to the air, followed by Minoriko and Shizuha, Minoriko shouting "that's NOT good enough!"

Ail watches from behind the trees and waits until Suwako and the Aki sisters are gone, then starts to move, however he steps on a twig, immediately unsettling Nitori and the two tengu.

The small wolf tengu shouts "is anyone there?"

Nitori gets closer to the tree Ail is hiding behind and sniffs around, saying "Ail's scent! He's been here!"

Terrorized, hoping he's not found, he closes his eyes and mouth some words.

He trembles and sweats as he lowers his head and notices some traces of blood on the ground where he landed and the blood dripping from behind him on the tree.

The wounds on his back have opened up again, and he knows this will only help to his capture. Again, he closes his eyes and mouths a prayer.

Nitori and the two tengu walk right in front of him, look around, then spot the blood on the floor a few feet away from him.

Nitori gasps and says "wah? What happened here?"

The young crow tengu says "our missing person seems to be bleeding... he's left too much blood around to be successfully sniffed out."

The wolf tengu quickly says "let's report this to the others."

The crow tengu nods and quickly both fly away to the mountain.

Nitori stays a bit longer, looking at the blood and where it leads. Ail knows she can see where he is after she smirks at him.

She casually turns around and places her arms behind her head and says "I better head home now."

She turns to face Ail again and says "the optical camouflage will keep you hidden, but I don't think it'll work for too long. Don't worry... I won't tell anyone I saw you, but do go and see the doctor."

Ail calms down, gulps, then nods.

Nitori sighs and as she leaves she says "at least say a 'yes' or something... I can't see you. Well, whatever. Just go... NOW!"

Ail takes her advice and immediately runs, hiding behind the trail of trees and bushes wile still invisible.

-

At the Myouren Temple, Shou and Byakuren stand by around the trees and bushes that stand far away from the temple.

Byakuren looks around with worry and expectation, while Shou scouts around with her vigilant eyes and listens carefully for any signs of movement.

She hears some rustling a little farther away, then signals Byakuren's right. Byakuren looks around, but sees nothing.

Shou stand in the middle of the road, staring straight in front of her with determination, and just as Byakuren asks "Shou, what's the matter? What do you see?"

The optical camouflage fails again and Ail materializes right in front of their eyes.

Surprised, Byakuren says "A... Ail!?"

Shou says "we were worried SICK about you! Why are you hiding from us!?"

Ail jumps away, ignoring the pain from his broken arm, shouting "no! Get BACK!"

Concerned, Byakuren says "Ail, we just want to help you!"

Ail keeps backing away as Shou and Byakuren walk closer and asks "and who's going to help YOU when I cause another catastrophe?"

Shou and Byakuren stop and back away, Hijiri gasping at Ail's question.

She asks "Ail, what are you talking about? You don't cause-"

Ail interrupts her, saying "I appreciate your concern, I TRULLY do... but for your safety and my peace of mind, please stay away!"

Shou growls and says "Ail, I thought we already talked about thi-"

"THIS IS NOT THE SAME THING!!!" shouts Ail.

He flinches and groans as the pain in his arm throbs sharply, then breathes heavily and says "and what will happen when you get tired of my stupid blundering, my causing incidents all around? You will want me far away from you, and I wouldn't blame you for it."

Shou and Byakuren stare in shock at Ail as he walks around them, taking the road to the Human Village, but before leaving he says "thank you for everything. I really appreciate it. But please, do yourselves a favor; keep away from me and live in peace."

Ail begins his walk to the village backward at first, making sure neither Byakuren or Shou follow him, then turns around after a light bow and heads toward the village.

Meanwhile, at the Hakurei Shrine, Kanako lands next to the hot springs and looks around.

Glaring around, she walks to the donation box and looks all around it, then continues her way to the shrine's back.

Standing where she can't be seen from the open sliding doors, she glares all around, but sighs disappointed and turns around to find Reimu staring angrily at her while crossing her arms.

Reimu asks "and what, or who might you be looking for?"

Kanako stutters for a while as Reimu stares at her with accusing eyes, but then she sighs and clams down, then says "I... did something terrible, Reimu. I want to fix it."

Reimu smirks and says "if you really want to fix it, let Ail come to you instead of hunting him down."

Kanako gasps and opens her eyes wide and asks "you-you know? How?"

Reimu chuckles and says "we could feel everything from over here, and as to 'how exactly'... well that's our little secret."

Kanako lets out a small, defeated smile, then asks "what about Budou?"

Reimu's eyes show anger after Kanako's question, but she manages to calmly reply "we had to put a sleep spell on her to calm her down... but she'll be ok. Now, you should go and repair that shrine of yours, and while you do that, you better think about your actions."

Kanako looks down to the ground away from Reimu, then says "fine. I may have done enough damage as it is, anyway."

Kanako flies away, immediately heading back to the Moriya Shrine, then Suwako jumps from behind a tree and nods at Reimu while saying "thank you very much."

Reimu smiles and says "it was my pleasure."

Sounding relieved, Suwako says "at least I know she wasn't looking to finish him off after all."

Reimu smiles and says "she's thick-headed at times, but she still has heart."

From inside the shrine, Minoriko shouts "Reimu~ We're out of sweet potatoes!"

Annoyed, Reimu shouts back "then go ahead and grow some more!"

-

At the entrance to the Human Village, Ail peeks inside and sees Kyo's house. The doors are closed and so are all the windows. Kyo is out, so going in could be a bad idea.

He looks at his clothes and thinks "I'm like a walking corpse... I should go around regardless."

Ail is about to turn away from the village and head all the way around it, but finds Medicine and Kyo behind him, looking worried at him. Kyo asks "you weren't planning on going around the village in that state, right?"

Ail is lost for words and just glares back at Kyo.

Medicine says "that arm must hurt. What if a wild youkai attacks you?"

Looking more concerned, Kyo says "for what is worth, I'm sorry I made you go to that hell, my friend."

Ail takes to steps backward and says "don't start apologizing! It wasn't your fault. All this is my OWN fault, alright!? Now, let me go before I cause another mess around-"

Ail's third step back reveals Luna right behind him, smiling widely and saying "you can say the stupidest things when unsettled. Look, let us at least walk you to the doctor. Nothing more."

Ail panics and manages to summon energy from his own life force to jump over Luna, reaching the top of the roof of their two-story house.

Ail shouts "stay AWAY! All I cause is trouble for those around me!"

Kyo activates the amplifier on his waist and says "tch! When will you learn to listen to advice!?"

He flies after Ail, making him jump, using more of his life force energy.

Kyo clenches his teeth and says "dammit! He can be so stubborn!"

Ail lands on Renko and Maribel's roof, but bends his foot when he lands and falls to the ground.

Before touching the hard ground he clenches his eyes shut and thinks "this is it" but there's a loud rumble and Ail feels as though he sliding.

After stopping he opens his eyes again and spots a large patch of dirt in the shape of a tall slide, and Renko and Maribel staring at him from behind the patch.

Ignoring the sharp throbbing pain from his arm, he manages to get up, then says "th-thanks. Now please, let me through."

Maribel notices his right arm, now swollen so much it looks like the blessed bracelet could pop off at any moment.

She gasps and shouts "Ail, what happened to your arm!?"

Renko exclaims "whoa!!! Ail, what the hell are you doing!? Get going to Eirin's, now!"

Ail backs away from the two girls and says "s-sure... Just keep away from me!"

To Ail's dismay, Keine flies straight to him, cutting him off from escaping, and sounding very serious she says "Anilan, what the hell happened to you? That arm, those cuts, your face!? And you are using your life force as energy!? Come with me, I'm taking you to Eirin's Clinic RIGHT NOW!"

Ail tries to speak, but gets really nervous when Kyo, Luna and Medicine arrive and surround him.

He gets so scared he starts to tremble, then shouts "you keep AWAY!"

Kyo calmly says "look, we are just trying to help you."

Ail shouts back "NO, just get AWAY!"

He summons energy from his life force, but feels as if he can't move, yet still feels very comfortable.

He looks above himself and sees Unzan holding on to him tightly, then hears Ichirin shouting "don't squeeze him too hard, Unzan. That arm's hurt enough!"

She waves at Kyo and says "don't worry bro, we'll take him to the clinic!"

Byakuren and Shou fly next to Ichirin, then wave back at Kyo as he shouts "make sure he stops jumping around!"

Ichirin giggles and says "he won't be escaping Unzan that easily."

Byakuren, in a serious tone of voice says "enough chit-chat. Let's take him to the doctor's!"

Keine shouts "do you know the way?"

From farther ahead, Mokou shouts "Don't worry! I'll guide them there. Let's go!"

As they all leave with Ail trapped by Unzan, Kyo looks toward his friend and says "he's broken..."

-

Kanako arrives to the Moriya Shrine at early noon, and just before landing next to the shrine's entrance, the mirror on her chest falls off, making a loud clanking sound upon hitting the ground.

Kanako looks at it and says "what the hell? This never happened before."

She bends down and picks it up, and immediately sees the image of Ail smiling at her.

When she looks into the mirror, she realizes it's the day before, when they were fighting Mirida.

Ail has just received Kanako's mirror into his heart and immediately she hears his thoughts, saying "a blessing from Kanako. There's no way I can lose now."

The scene moves ahead to the time Ail is out of energy.

He thinks "I... I don't believe this. I'm gonna end up dead at this pace. Ugh! This is all my fault. These shadows, and these incidents.. all my fault. I am so glad... I got so many friends by my side, specially the goddesses. Yes, that's right. I got three goddesses here with me. I know I can count on them.. but... what can I do for them in return? Maybe more faith in Kanako and Suwako as a start? But what about Sanae, she's a living goddess... Does faith work for her too?"

By now, Kanako's eyes fill with tears as she trembles and falls on the shrine's porch, sitting down as she stares into the mirror.

Now she's looking into his dreams, where he's flying over Gensokyo, and to his left, Sanae flies along with him, shortly followed by Budou, who flies in between them.

They reach the Moriya Shrine, greeting the goddesses with a bow, then Ail grabs a yellow thread from the ground, and with an excited smile on his face he flies away until he reaches the Hakurei Shrine.

He hands Reimu the thread and she ties it on a wooden support inside her own shrine.

Both shrines start glowing at the same time, then the humans and youkai arrive to both shrines, filling them with light as they all share a smile with each other, all living in harmony.

A dark cloud rises just above Ail, unsettling him and making him run away toward a blank area.

He's alone and scared; the only other thing in there with him is a dark version of himself, laughing at him and torturing his mind with visions of his friend's death.

Out of nowhere many of Ail's friends come and fly straight to him. Reimu, Remilia, Reisen, Byakuren, Shou, Kyo and many more, all aiding him with hope, however, it's still not enough and he continues to be pushed away by his dark self.

Sanae and Budou now stand behind him, smiling and waving at him, giving him more hope, aiding him as he fights back, but it's still not enough.

He uses his bracelet and summons Kanako and Suwako. The boost of power he gets from their presence allows him to push the darkness away, however, Kanako watches as her other self in Ail's dream glares at him from behind with glowing red eyes, then her dream self stare back at her real self and smiles.

Kanako can't watch anymore. She closes her eyes as she covers the mirror with her left hand.

When she opens her tear-filled eyes, right in front of her stands Ayalina, staring back at her with a serious expression.

They stare at each other for some time, then Kanako asks "aren't you going to beat me to a pulp?"

Ayalina replies "as much as I'd want to, I believe you are being punished enough as it is."

Kanako tries to smile, but only ends up frowning and looking to the ground.

Ayalina sighs and sits next to Kanako and says "he really trusted you, and I'll never understand why. Well, other than Kyo, he's never really had luck with friends."

Kanako raises her head to meet Ayalina's eyes, though is unable to ask, but Ayalina quickly answers "before his friends here in Gensokyo, Kyo was Ail's only real friend, though I don't know about you, because like you, his other 'friends' betrayed him. Still, from what I can see in that mirror, he really had the outmost faith in you... and somehow... Well, never mind that."

With a cracked voice, Kanako says "but... he was taking Sanae away from me. I..."

Ayalina sighs and says "and to me, it felt like your Sanae was taking Ail away from me. Whenever we talked, all he talked about, other than the adventures he got into, was Sanae. I got a bit jealous at first, but I came to accept it."

Ayalina gets closer to Kanako's ear and says "though, between you and me, he's as thick as a brick on these matters *giggle*"

Kanako manages to chuckle a little before asking "will he ever forgive me?"

Ayalina stands up and says "well, he may be thick, but he's got a big heart. He'll forgive you. Now, I want to ask you..."

Kanako looks at Ayalina as she gets up and backs away saying "...please, try and be a little more understanding. And you could use some more tact, dear."

With those words, right in front of Kanako's eyes, Ayalina disappears, making a loud "poof" and leaving behind a small bed of flowers that turn to magical dust after some time.

Kanako stays sitting where she is, placing both hands on her face while thinking how to make Sanae, Ail and Budou forgive her for what she's done.

-

At the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, before reaching Eirin's Clinic, Ichirin sounds disappointed when she says "so you're Ail. Lady Hijiri said you were wise, but all I see is a cry-baby."

A vein pops on Ail's forehead as he smirks dangerously at Ichirin and replies "well, lady, I truly don't care what you think. Let me go before I cause trouble for you too!"

Ichirin replies "I'm Ichirin Kumoi, and the one holding you is Unzan, and you made Hijiri nee-sama worried. If she's worried, I'm worried. So no, I'm not letting you go."

Byakuren flies closer to Ichirin and whispers something, then Ichirin says "I see... Well, I believe this is the place?"

Mokou lands next to the gates of Entei and says "you are correct."

Unzan places Ail gently on the ground inside the grounds of Entei, then Ichirin says "there, you see? Nothing happened! And if anything did happen, you got plenty of friends to take care of anything that does pop up."

Ail quickly backs away from the small group hovering above him and asks "well, what if I am the problem!? What would you do then?"

Ichirin gasps and is unable to answer. Byakuren and Shou look away, unable to answer either.

Ail scoffs and says "that's what I though."

From the clinic, Eirin says "I was wondering when you might show up! Come on, let's take a look at..."

Ail looks at Eirin and Reisen as they stand next to the door to the clinic, and like a frightened animal, Ail stares back, unblinking, as he slowly backs away.

Eirin takes a good look at him and says "Udonge, go stand by in the living room. I'll call you if I need you."

Confused, Reisen stares at Eirin, but quickly realizes her master is serious, so she straightens out and says "right away, Master. Please don't hesitate to call me."

Eirin smiles tenderly, sending chills down Reisen's spine, then says "oh don't worry. I won't."

After Reisen leaves Eirin looks up and says "thank you very much for bringing him here. Please, allow me to handle things from here."

Byakuren and Shou stare at Eirin for a moment, then Byakuren says "understood. Please let us know what happens. Come on ladies and Unzan."

Mokou is already gone from the gate when Byakuren, Shou, Ichirin and Unzan fly by.

Ail relaxes and Eirin quickly notices this and smiles while saying "it's alright. They are all gone. It's just you and me now. Come on in and I'll treat those wounds."

Ail hesitates for a moment, but slowly walks toward the clinic, spotting Kaguya, Tewi and Reisen staring at him concernedly from inside the mansion.

He stops and without looking at Kaguya he says "you were right about me, Princess of the Moon."

He continues walking to Eirin, leaving Kaguya surprised inside the large mansion.

Eirin opens the door, allowing him inside the clinic, then follows him inside.

-

Suwako arrives to the Moriya Shrine, spotting Kanako restoring the grounds on her own, however, doing so half-heartedly.

Suwako lands and walks to Kanako and in a rough and angry tone of voice she asks "so? Are you happy?"

Kanako's eyes hide under a dark shadow, tears falling non-stop trough her cheeks.

Suwako sighs, crosses her arms, then says "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that... but you had it coming."

Kanako sweeps some dirt inside the hole made by Ail's final attack, then lifts her arms in the air, trying to summon one of her logs, but her voice cracks and she is unable to.

Suwako notices the mirror is missing again, then looks desperately around, then shouts "Kanako, where's the mirror!? Please tell me you didn't!!"

Kanako drops her arms and points toward the shrine, with her left arm.

Suwako sighs with relief, and gasps when realizing something and asks "what did you see?!"

Kanako doesn't answer, so Suwako desperately shouts "dammit Kanako, what did you see!?"

Kanako starts to hyperventilate, then drops on her knees and drops herself on Suwako, embracing her tightly and crying "I made a horrible mistake! I should have listened! But Sanae... Now she..."

After recovering from the surprise, Suwako hugs Kanako back and softly says "I warned you this could happen, but I know my granddaughter well. It might take some days... maybe a week, but she'll forgive you."

Kanako continues to cry on Suwako's shoulders under the dark and cloudy sky, feeling as though all hope has left her.

Suwako pats Kanako's back and says "look, too many things happened a little too fast, so maybe we should rest and..."

Kanako cries harder as she says "Sanae... Ail... Budou... They're gone! They're not coming back!"

Suwako can't find any comforting words and seems she's also falling into depression, and just when she's about to cry the dark clouds begin to slowly split apart, allowing the noon sun to shrine on them.

Suwako smiles as the warmth of the sun fills her body then pats Kanako's head and says "they'll all come back. You'll see."

Suwako waits until Kanako calms down a bit, and with a smile on her face she says "so we better have this shrine clean and ready for when they do."

Kanako pushes herself away from Suwako to look into her eyes, then Suwako says "come on. This should take us the rest of the day, but it'll be worth it."

Kanako sniffles and manages to smile back at Suwako, then wipes away a teardrop from her left eye with her finger and with a cracked, yet relaxed voice replies "l-let's get started then *sniffle*."

-

Meanwhile, Sanae and Kogasa fly above the Bamboo Forest, scanning the area thoroughly.

Kogasa sighs and asks "nee-san, he might be back in his home already. Why don't we check there?"

Distracted, Sanae replies "huh? Oh, right... That..."

Kogasa clenches her eyes and cries "that wasn't even a sentence! Come on nee-san, cheer up! What if he sees you like that when we find him?"

Sanae snaps out of her thoughts and says "wha-? Did you say something?"

Before Kogasa complains, she and Sanae spot a large group of girls looking through the windows at Eirin's Clinic.

Sanae Recognizes Byakuren, Shou, Ichirin, Reisen, Kaguya, Tewi, Aya and Hina, so she and Kogasa exchange surprised stares before landing.

Sanae asks "hey guys, what are you all-"

Ichirin shushes Sanae and whispers "Ail's in there! He's really jumpy, so we're trying to keep qui-"

Sanae knocks Ichirin away as she rushes to a window, exclaiming "Ail is here!"

Ichirin gets up from the ground, nods at Kogasa, then both find another window to peek through.

Inside the clinic, Eirin approaches Ail with a scalpel and says "I'm going to have to cut that shirt off."

Ail softly says "go ahead..."

He looks at a small mirror on a small table next to the bed he's sitting on and notices the onlookers on the windows, paying more attention at Sanae, who stares back at him through the mirror with longing eyes.

Ail sighs, so Eirin says "I can put up a curtain if you want."

Ail softly replies "it's alright... They're away from me... away from danger."

Concerned and curious, Eirin tries to look into Ail's eyes as she removes his shirt, cutting it from the right side in order to remove it.

After removing it, she gasps at the sight. Outside, even Byakuren winces and says "my goodness! How is he even alive!?"

Sanae quietly continues to watch, now concern filling her longing eyes.

Ail's back is full of dried up stab wounds, and looks as though he's been badly burned.

His entire right arm is swollen all the way up to his shoulder, where the stab wound there is still bleeding a little, while his left arm looks less damaged, but still burned.

His chest is full of cuts and bruises, and his abdomen is one large black bruise as well.

Angrily, Eirin says "Ail, what in the world happened to you? You should have come STRAIGHT to me! Look at you! It's a miracle you're even alive!!!"

Eirin touches Ail's left arm, then gasps and says "and your life force... Ail..."

Sounding concerned now, she lets go of his arm and asks "what happened to you?"

Ail looks down and in a low, yet angry tone of voice, Ail says "Eirin... you've been alive for a long time..."

Eirin smiles dangerously at Ail, but before she says anything Ail rises his voice and letting a few tears escape him he says "Eirin, I'm serious!! Of all my friends... of all the people I know, you are the only one I can ask this. You've met many, you've seen a lot. Eirin... am I a villain? Am I... a bad person?"

Eirin is left in shock at the question.

At first, she is hesitant to answer, but summons the courage, sighs, then says "Ail, every single one of us have both light and darkness in us. There is no way for one to survive without the other. That is why the paths we choose through life define who we are... and no, I don't believe you are."

Ail sighs with great relief, then looks at Eirin's eyes and asks "and do you think I belong here in Gensokyo, then?"

Eirin closes her eyes, letting out some air through her nose and with her eyes closed still she says "that answer... I cannot give to you. You are the only one that can answer that question for yourself. Now, let's treat those injuries..."

Again, Ail looks to the mirror, exchanging sad stares with Sanae, then looks away as Eirin begins to treat him.

-

The girls outside the clinic grow more impatient as the minutes pass by, and all are talking among each other, but when Ail screams Sanae is the first to reach the window.

Inside, Eirin says "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to use a sleeping drug on you now. This will be too painful for you to bare."

Ail breathes with difficulty and grunts lightly, then nods and gruffly says "yeah... go ahead."

From outside, Sanae places her hand on the window, wishing she could reach inside.

Kogasa places a hand on her shoulder and says "nee-san... Maybe it would be best if you didn't watch."

Sanae sighs and says "I guess you're right, Kogasa."

From the distance, Byakuren shouts "look, the sun's back out, so why don't we all calm down and have a picnic while we wait?"

All the other girls look to Byakuren and exclaim "eeh~!?"

Byakuren and Shou have set up a large checkered red and white blanket with food and drinks on it, inviting the girls over, and quickly the other girls join in, all finding a comfortable spot to sit on while they eat, however, one spot remains empty.

Sanae takes another look inside the clinic through the window and spots Ail lying on the bed with his broken arm extended on a small table.

Eirin is on the side of the window, and surprising Sanae she calmly says "you better go eat something. I'll be done in an hour or so."

Sanae places her hand on her chest and takes a few breaths to calm down after the surprise, then lowers her head and blushes as her stomach rumbles, then says "I guess... I should..."

Hungry but reluctant, Sanae leaves the window and heads to Byakuren's picnic, receiving a rice-ball after sitting down.

She takes a bite while her mind wanders, but the though suddenly strikes her.

She looks to her left, then the right, then asks "um... miss Byakuren?"

With an angelical smile on her face, Byakuren asks "what is it, dear? Is something wrong?"

Sanae looks around and says "I don't see any ovens or barbecues. How did you make all this?"

Byakuren continues to smile as she lifts a finger in the air, waves it, then says "that's a secre~t."

Shou approaches Sanae and asks "miss Sanae? What's a barbecue?"

About an hour passes when Eirin finally comes out of the clinic.

She approaches the girls and with a tired smile she says "I managed to relieve the swelling and place a cast on his arm."

Sanae springs up and rapidly asks "is he going to be ok!? Can we go see him!? Why is he running away from us!?"

Calmly, Eirin signals Sanae to calm down and sit down, and after Sanae sits back down she says "he'll be alright. If he didn't have youkai blood in him... Anyway, right now he's very scared. He believes he's the cause of all the shadows and he thinks that by keeping away from us, he'll keep us safe."

Sanae springs to her feet again and shouts "that's foolish! Why on earth would he be thinking such things?"

Eirin sighs and asks "why did you strike his face like that?"

Sanae falls on the blanket again, this time with an embarrassed and sad look on her face.

Before she can explain, Eirin says "you can explain later. I promised him none of us would be around when he leaves, so let's head inside."

Reisen asks "Master, is it really ok to let him leave so soon? Those injuries were..."

Eirin nods and says "even if I force him to stay, he'll just escape any way he can. I rather he leaves peacefully than fight his way out."

-

After the girls enter the mansion, Eirin closes the sliding doors and rings a bell she pulls out of her pocket.

Ail cautiously opens the clinic's door and looks around. After seeing the coast is clear he exits the clinic and walks as fast as he can to the gates.

He's wearing the broken shirt he had come in with, and a large cast that hangs on a white band that's tide to his neck.

His face is full of small bandages, and one large bandage on his left cheek, and through a gap on his shirt, many more bandages can be seen surrounding his entire torso.

By now, there are many eyes peering through the many cracks on the windows, and Sanae, Byakuren and Shou's heads hanging from an opening on the slightly open sliding doors.

Sanae notices the cast covers his entire arm, all the way up to his shoulder, and she also notices a bump on the cast, around where his wrist is.

Sanae asks "you couldn't remove the bracelet?"

Eirin casually says "it's magically bound to him."

Sanae sighs and says "I have to apologize to him."

Reisen has set up a table with tea for everyone in the room, so Eirin grabs Sanae's shoulder, just before she runs after Ail, waving her finger left and right and clicking her tongue.

She drags the wind priestess to the table and sits her in front of a cup of tea, then says "perhaps you should explain why the cut on his face?"

Sanae sighs and says "I was tricked... by someone I trusted and loved... someone I had so much faith on."

Ail arrive to the Hakurei Shrine at late noon. Though he is able to fly again after resting at the clinic, he's still flying slowly.

Out by the shrine's gate is Reimu, standing there, waiting for him to land.

Ail slowly lands a few feet away from her, then says "don't get too close. I'm dangerous."

Reimu looks annoyed at him and says "pipe down. You're as dangerous as a hairball right now."

Ail smiles and says "well, at least I'm not as icky."

Reimu smiles and replies "you still look terrible."

Ail replies "try fighting two powerful goddesses at the same time."

Reimu sighs and asks "so why did you come here?"

Ail lowers his head just slightly, then turns his sight to the hot spring and says "I know that you know all that's happened. I came here... so you could seal my powers away."

Reimu is surprised by his request, but hides her surprise with a smile, then asks "why would I do that?"

Ail turns his sight to her and says "I broke the spell card rule, I used a dangerous power, and I almost destroyed Gensokyo with that last spell. Besides... all my powers ever cause is trouble."

Reimu crosses her arms in front of her chest and staring angrily at Ail she says "if you weren't injured I'd smack that thick head of yours."

Ail stares confused at Reimu, then she says "there's no need, Ail. What happened today was an accident caused by someone other than yourself."

Ail quickly says "doesn't that sound familiar."

Reimu sighs and says "look, you are tired. Go home and rest. Take a few days, lock that door, don't come out and just... rest."

Ail looks down to the ground for a moment, then Reimu asks "is that all?"

Ail says "Mima mentioned Budou was here, so..."

From the side of the shrine, Budou comes running straight at Ail, crying "papa~! Papa, you're ok~!"

Ail kneels down and extends his left arm, welcoming Budou's hug.

He winces in pain the moment Budou hugs him, though she doesn't crash on him or squeeze him too tightly.

She cries on his shirt "I wanted to help you! I wanted to help papa~!"

He hugs her back, softly saying "it's ok. It's alright, Budou."

From farther away, Chen, Ran, Phredia, Mima and Rika look at him with pity as he hugs Budou.

Ail glares back, then nods at them, letting a small smile escape his lips.

He lets go of Budou and looking into her eyes he says "let's go home, Budou."

He looks at Phredia and shouts "you too, miss guardian fairy."

As Phredia flies straight to Budou, Reimu asks "are you sure about that?"

Ail says "she's got Phredia. She'll protect Budou, even from me if she has to."

After slowly lifting to the air, Ail and Budou fly back to Ail's house at the Forest of Magic.

Rika approaches Reimu and asks "are you sure about this? He did break your rules."

Reimu smiles as she places an arm around Rika's neck, making the maid blush pink and says "remember what I promised the yama."

Mima quietly stares at the skies toward Ail and Budou as they slowly fly back home.

-

It's night, and half of the grounds at the Moriya Shrine have already been restored, save for a few trees and landscapes directly in front of the shrine itself, and the large hole left by Ail's last attack a few feet farther ahead.

Inside the shrine Suwako eats the soup she has prepared, sitting besides two empty spots at the small table.

Kanako sits next to the shrine's donation box, completely lost in though.

She hears a pair of feet patting hard on the ground, but before she has time to look, a small but strong whirlwind picks her up from the ground and tosses her toward the restored path to the shrine's gates, forcing the goddess to land on her face.

Kanako lifts her head and instinctively says "Sanae, I'm so sorry."

From the shadows Sanae asks "why? What did we ever do to you? I had faith in you, I cared about you, I helped you... WE. Yes, it's not just 'I', but 'WE'! Why would you do that to us?"

Kanako manages to sit on the ground and crosses her legs under her skirt, and while staring at the ground in front of her, she says "I was jealous and scared!"

Sanae reveals herself from the shadows and stands right in front of Kanako, staring angrily at her and saying "that's not good enough!"

Kanako turns her face away from Sanae and tries to turn around, but Sanae smirks and says "oh no, you are not!"

She jumps on the goddess and quickly the sounds of smacking, punching, accompanied by Kanako's please for mercy echo through the darkness of the night.

When everything seems to settle down, Kanako's cream of agony echo all the way to the tengu, where Aya, in order to calm the other tengu down says to them "relax! That's just the sound of a goddess learning!"

Back at the shrine, Sanae has Kanako trapped in a figure 4 leg-lock and is pulling down on Kanako's leg, looking more and more angry by the second.

Kanako's left pupil pulsates while the right takes the shape of a misshapen star as the goddess punches the ground with her left fist and shouts "Sanae! Uncle, UNCLE!!!"

Ignoring Kanako's pleas Sanae asks again "why!?"

Sanae pulls Kanako's leg again, making the goddess clench her eyes tight and hold her head with both hands.

Sanae loosens her grip, giving Kanako a break, then again asks "for the last time... why!!?"

Kanako breathes for a moment, then says "I wanted to break your bond with him. He was taking you away, and I didn't like it. He almost stole you from us!"

Sanae pulls Kanako's leg again and shouts "what kind of brainless, thick-headed, nonsensical tomfoolery is that!!?"

Trying to ignore the pain, Kanako shouts "I didn't want to lose you!!"

Sanae pulls Kanako's leg again and shouts "you idiot, what the hell made you think I'd abandon you!? I'd NEVER do that to either of you. You are my family!"

Sanae suddenly lets go of Kanako's leg after a loud cracking noise and rolls away, standing up almost immediately.

Kanako stays on the ground, staring at the sky as she feels relief from the pain, and at the same time, feeling like a fool.

When she really thinks about it, Sanae's never really abandoned them once. She always did her chores, spent time with them, collected faith.

This realization hits Kanako hard and while staring blankly at the night sky she asks "what the hell happened? Why didn't I see all this before?"

Sanae stands next to Kanako and angrily shouts "because you were too focused in ruining his life!"

Sanae looks to her right and says "hold it right there, you!"

A few feet away, Suwako tries to tip-toe away to safety, but Sanae sees her.

With a horrifying smile on her face, Sanae reaches for Suwako.

Kanako covers her eyes as the sounds of smacks, crunching bones and Suwako's screams unsettle the night.

Sanae tosses Suwako's hat to Kanako and angrily say "I'm going to bed!"

Suwako pops her bruised face from inside the hat as Kanako asks "you hate us, don't you?"

Sanae sighs and calmly says "Kanako, Suwako, you are my family. There is no way I could ever hate either of you..."

She turns around, showing her anger at disappointment in her eyes and shouts "but right now I am angry at you two; angry enough to rip you to shreds! So if you don't mind, I don't want to see you for a couple of days! Now... GOOD-NIGHT!"

Sanae storms to the shrine and after a while the door to her room slams shut.

Afterward, Kanako lifts Suwako's hat in order to look eye-to-eye, then excitedly says "she doesn't hate us! She's not going to leave us!"

From inside the hat, Suwako says "auu~ I'm hurting in places I didn't know I had!"

Kanako drops on her back, spreading her arms as she falls and letting Suwako roll around while still inside Pyonta and says "I can't feel my legs."

-

At Ail's house, Budou convinces Ail to lie on his bed, saying "now you stay in bed and rest. I'll take care of papa until you are all better!"

Ail smiles and says "thank you very much, Budou."

Phredia comes from the corridor, holding a cup of warm tea with her magic and slowly brings it to Budou, who helps Ail drink it, saying "Hakurei sis and miss Rika told how to make this while we waited for you to come, but she couldn't really teach me... so~"

Ail takes a sip expecting the worse, but to his surprise, the tea was practically perfect.

He takes a quick second gulp and exclaims "MMM~ Budou this is incredible!"

Budou giggles and Phredia nods with a smile as Ail finishes his cup of tea.

He smacks his lips and says "wow, I am impressed. This was very delicious. Hope you didn't go through too much trouble. Ah, I know. I'll do the dishes for you-"

Budou scolds him, saying "ah-ah-ah! Papa stays in bed! You are tired, so I'll take care of everything while you rest!"

Ail frowns and sadly says "y-yes... I guess you're right."

Ail accommodates himself, preparing to sleep, while Budou and Phredia leave the room, and just before they close the door, Ail says "Budou... Phredia? Thank you... very much."

Budou and Phredia smile angelically back at him, then Budou says "papa always takes care of Budou, so I take care of papa this time!"

Ail smiles at them then lies on his back, staring at the ceiling before closing his eyes.

Budou and Phredia quietly close the door and head to the kitchen, where Budou wipes the sweat off her forehead and says "phew! Thank goodness. If papa sees this mess, he'd never rest!"

Phredia nods at Budou, then both look at the tower of dirty pots, pans, dishes, and a few burn marks around the cabinets above the stove.

Inside Ail's room, Ail continues to stare at the ceiling, thinking "I truly want to smile at her... really feel appreciative for her effort... dear Budou... But I can't feel a thing. What's wrong with me?"

-

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Luna, Budou and Phredia were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

JAN 23 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.


	31. Chapter 30

Morning in Gensokyo.

3 days have passed since that terrible battle at the Moriya Shrine.

The shrine grounds have finally been restored, saplings replacing the trees that once stood tall on the shrine; Suwako has been blessing them regularly to speed up their growth.

Though still mad, Sanae now acknowledges the goddesses, occasionally tossing a quick smile their way and answering with a quick "hmm" at them.

Slowly, everything seems to be settling down and returning to normal... or at least as normal as life in Gensokyo gets. However, this is not the case for Ail.

For the past 3 days and nights nobody has seen or heard from him, save for Kyo, Maribel and Byakuren, who have received visits from Budou, telling them Ail is alright, although unknown to her, his heart and mind aren't healing at all.

Ail is spending his days locked up inside his house, not even going to Eirin's clinic for the follow-up check-ups for that arm of his, which is still encased safely inside the large cast.

Though he smiles at Budou and tells her that he is well, inside he can't feel any type of emotion in his heart, and his mind only makes things worse as any sign of recovery to his heart immediately triggers the painful memory of Sanae's hate-filled glare after she looked into Kanako's mirror.

Those names... whenever they course through his mind, he grips his hair and tires to pull his own head apart, thankfully failing every time.

On the night of that third day, Budou approaches Ail as he reads a small brown book while sitting on the living room's couch, then says "papa, can I go with Chen to the village tomorrow?"

Ail forces a smile and says "well of course. Don't mind me, I'll be here all day so I'll be ok."

Budou pouts and looks to the floor, fidgeting with her hands and saying "why don't you come with us? Everyone is worried about you. Even large brother."

Ail sweats after hearing Budou's offer to go out, feeling fear coursing through his entire body, but he hides these feelings and forces another smile at Budou, then says "n-no, I think I better stay. B-besides, I might slow you two down."

Budou lowers her wings in disappointment, then sighs and says "ok papa. Well, are you sure you're going to be ok on your own? We might be gone for long."

Ail fakes yet another smile and says "Don't you worry about me, I can manage on my own. You just go and enjoy yourselves as much as you want."

Budou smiles and lightly hugs Ail and says "thanks papa. I better go sleep then. *yawn* I'm feeling a little tired. Good night."

Ail pats her head and gives her a light kiss on the head and says "good night."

Budou flies to the ceiling, kicking off the fluffy sandals she's wearing, then clings upside down, covering herself with her wings and quickly falling asleep after a big yawn.

Ail continues reading the small book in his hand and shortly after, decides to go to sleep as well.

-

On the morning of the fourth day, there is a knock on the door of Ail's house and Chen's call "Budou, are you there? It's me, Chen!".

Budou immediately says "coming~!" and quickly opens the door after swooping down from the ceiling.

Giggling, Chen and Budou greet with a hug and a few quick jumps, then Budou whispers "so how did you convince lady nine-tails to let you come?"

Chen proudly sticks out her chest and says "we of the feline family never give up. If at first you don't succeed, try and try again!"

Budou looks at Chen with a suspicious look and a smirk, then asks "you told her you'd escape and never return, didn't you?"

Chen giggles and quickly replies "yup. So, are we going to the village now?"

Budou smiles and nods, then says "oh, just a second."

She heads to the storage room, where Ail rummages through a few books, then says "papa, we're heading out now. Are you sure you don't want to come?"

Ail fakes a smile and says "I'm sorry, but I'm looking for something important, so I'll be here all day. You two have fun, you hear?"

Budou gives Ail a light hug and says "alright. See you later papa!"

Ail listens as the girls excitedly giggle and run outside, talking about the fun they are about to have at the village.

After the door slams shut Ail shouts "don't forget to look the door~! ...Budou?"

He continues to rummage through books after shrugging, muttering to himself while doing so, then hears the door opening again.

While still looking through the books he shouts "Budou, is that you?"

From outside, just before the door closes, an arm covered by a sleeve in white and blue pulls the door close.

There is only silence inside the house afterward, then a few birds fly away from a nearby tree after there's a loud bang from inside the house, and Ail's voice growling "stupid book!"

Meanwhile, at the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu is helping Rika train, the hard way, after Rika accidentally tripped on her own foot, landed inside the broom closet, knocked down all the brooms and mops, and sent a broom flying to the kitchen, knocking down countless pots and pans, waking up her mistress long before her usual waking hours.

Rika, who's face if full of burn marks, as well as her tattered clothes, holds her thunder sword in hand, staring bravely into the eyes of Reimu, who simply smirks and casually says "you're never going to get close to me like that."

Rika growls and stares with determination, then disappears.

Reimu yawns loud wide and tosses a large amulet on the ground to her left, shocking Rika as soon as she reappears, ready to attack.

Rika's body sizzles as grey steam clouds rise to the atmosphere, then she coughs and says "alright, I give up. I'll skip training for the next 3 days and keep everyone around here quiet while you sleep."

With a triumphant smile, Reimu helps Rika up and says "well then, I expect long sleeps all through these morn..."

Reimu suddenly narrows her eyes and turns her head toward the Forest of Magic, then smirks.

Worried, Rika asks "my lady, what is it?"

Reimu sighs and says "the last one has finally revealed herself."

Rika excitedly gasps and says "alright! Let's go and hunt her down, miss Reimu!"

Reimu raises her hand and says "that won't be necessary."

Disappointed, Rika slumps and says "aww! And I really wanted to help my lady Reimu too!"

Reimu chuckles, pats Rika's head, then says "come on, let's prepare some tea and take a soak in the hot springs."

Rika's face turns bright red as she holds her cheeks and with great excitement she shouts "right away, my lady!!"

-

At the Human Village, Chen and Budou spend some time at the village's market, browsing around and buying a few things for themselves, like sweets for Chen and grapes for Budou, fried tofu for Ran, and a Nitori-brand solar-powered toaster for Ail.

After some joyful browsing and shopping, they decide to go and visit Kyo and Maribel's houses.

The cast-free Kyo is outside his house, doing some morning stretching along with Medicine, while Luna watches from the house's porch and shouting instructions at them.

They ignore her and continue their routine, and from the distance Budou shouts "miss Luna, miss Medicine, large brother~!"

Kyo grinds his teeth and through them he says "I'm going on a diet!"

After Luna and Medicine greet the two girls, Budou notices Kyo and asks "large brother, are you alright?"

Kyo is sitting on the ground, desperately doing sit-ups and repeating to himself "not large, not large, not large."

Luna smiles at Budou and says "don't mind him. He's just being paranoid."

Somehow, Kyo now stands at Luna's left and with an angry smile he says "well, why don't I call you 'lady pooch' and see how you like it!?"

Kyo receives a well-placed and well-earned elbow to his gut, making him groan in pain, however he hides this by staring seriously to his left.

Chen asks "mister Kyo, are you alright?"

Out of breath, Kyo replies "yeah... just stretching."

Medicine looks toward the roof of their neighbors and spots a shadow with nine tails, staring back at her with a glint on her eyes, sending chills down the doll's entire body.

Medicine trembles as she points at the shadow and asks "w-what is that?"

When Chen and the others turn to look, the shadow disappears.

Kyo narrows his eyes and asks "Chen, where's Ran?"

Chen sighs and says "she almost didn't let me come, but she should be at home right now."

Kyo smirks and says "I see."

At the other side of the neighbors' house, Ran hangs on to the edge of the roof, hoping not to fall down too hard, while the family stares at her curiously from inside the house.

Kyo accompanies Chen and Budou as they head to Maribel and Renko's.

While on the way, Kyo asks "so how's Ail? Is he doing alright?"

Budou sighs and says "he doesn't want to come out anymore. All he's doing is looking through books."

Kyo thinks and says "hmm... that sounds familiar."

At the SDM's library, Patchouli sneezes into her cup of tea, spilling it all over herself.

Koakuma smiles while sweating and says "oh my. I'll got some towels and your thermometer."

Koakuma slowly flies away, happily humming to herself, but Patchouli startles her by quickly shouting "mukyu~!! Not the thermometer!"

Back at the village, as soon as Kyo, Chen and Budou arrive to the girls' house, Maribel, bearing her cat ears and tail, comes out of the house with a watering can, and Mima hovering behind her with many hearts popping from around her head.

Immediately spotting the small party, Maribel smiles and waves at them, welcoming them to her finished house and shouting "what a nice surprise! Please, please, come inside!".

-

Inside the house, Renko sits half-awake under the kotatsu.

Her hair is a complete mess and she continues to mumble incoherently.

Maribel giggles and says "don't mind her. She spent all night studying one of miss Patchouli's books."

Budou smiles and says "as expected from bookworm 2! Never stop studying!"

Renko manages to smile and mumble "tha~ thanks... Budou... zzz"

After serving them tea, Kyo says "well, I'm here to install that window bench you wanted."

The hearts around Mima suddenly increase after Maribel claps softly, waves her tail, wiggles her cat ears and excitedly says "yay~! Thank you so much! Umm..."

Maribel stares at Budou and Chen, hesitant to ask about Ail, but Budou notices and sadly says "papa didn't want to come. He's looking for something, but I think that's just an excuse. He seems so sad lately. He smiles at me a lot, but it's not like before."

Mima snaps out of her trip and says "huh? What was that? Sad? He seems to be very happy right now."

Kyo suspiciously asks "and how do you know?"

Mima lifts her finger while saying "remember, I made a small connection to his mind. I WAS going to close it, but he says that would be a bad idea so..."

Excitedly, Budou bangs her hands on the table and asks "is papa really happy!?"

Mima stares a little surprised at Budou, but smiles again and says "why of course. It's just like when he was with that green maiden before."

Budou exclaims "Chen! Mama and papa are back together!"

Chen smiles back and says "maybe we should go check!"

Budou grabs Chen's hands and while jumping and laughing she says "yes, let's go now and check!"

Before they leave, Phredia pops out from under Budou's hair and stares at the two jumping girls from a safe distance, or at least she thought she was safe.

Budou suddenly flaps her wings and knocks Phredia toward Mima's head, knocking the spirit's head off and sending it on a roll outside, making the villagers yelp in surprise as she smiles and shouts "wait! Ouch! Get out of the way! Can't you see I'm on a roll!?"

Mima's body goes right through the house's wall and quickly chases after the rolling head, making more villagers scream in horror.

From inside, even Renko wakes up and places her full attention at Mima's fun-filled roll.

Kyo sweats and says "if you need me, I'll be working on that window bench."

After leaving Maribel's house Budou and Chen fly as fast as they can just above the trees of the Forest of Magic, hoping to reach Ail's home quickly.

They are joined by Tokiko, who happens to be flying by and asks "what with all the rush?"

Budou exclaims "Tokiko! It's my papa! He and mama are back together!"

Chen drools while staring at Tokiko with her wide and hungry cat-eyes and slurps before saying in an unsettling tone of voice "we... we're going to check it out. Um, wanna join in?"

Tokiko sweats, sensing danger coming from Chen, and says "err, no, I think I better head back home now. Um... see you around Budou... err, Chen."

Sweating, Tokiko flies away as fast as her wings can take her.

Budou looks at Chen, who has just recovered her normal face and asks "eh? She looked so nervous. What do you suppose happened?"

Chen drools a little, but smiles and quickly says "maybe she needed to use the bathroom."

Immediately after landing in front of the house, Budou stops, drops Ail's gift, and takes two steps away, then Phredia hurries out of hiding and gets in front of her.

Chen lands in front of Budou and Phredia and excitedly rushes to the house, quickly reaching for the doorknob and shouting "come on Budou! Let's go inside!"

Budou jumps toward Chen, shouting "NO~! Don't touch that!!"

For that instance when she reaches for the doorknob, Chen notices a purple flame surrounding the entire house that reaches for her.

Budou manages to pull Chen away in time while Phredia protects them from the purple flames as they get away.

Breathing rapidly Chen asks "what is THAT!?"

Budou trembles and says "we need big sis and gramma! Mama and papa are in danger! Let's go!"

Budou quickly flaps her wings and lifts to the air, followed quickly by Phredia, then Chen, who shouts "wait, Budou! What's going on?"

After the girls leave, Ran reveals herself in front of the door and stares at the house. She lets out a sigh of relief, then says "I better let Reimu know."

-

At the Moriya Shrine, Suwako is already working on blessing the new trees, having already managed to make them grow to young trees already.

Kanako walks out of the shrine with a mug on her hands, looking somberly with a bed-head as Suwako sits like a frog next to one of the young trees and continues to chant in front of it.

To a human, it would seem like she's doing nothing, but Kanako can see a yellow aura that comes from Suwako and surrounds the tree, helping it grow.

Kanako somberly approaches Suwako and sounding a little groggy she asks "have you seen Sanae this morning?"

Suwako stops her chanting and slowly opens her eyes, then after standing up straight she says "well this is odd. You're actually awake so early? Good morning!"

Kanako quietly stares back with a sleepy face, making Suwako laugh and say "sorry, sorry, hahah. She's in her room right now. Why?"

Kanako places her left hand on the left side of her head and says "had this terrible dream just now."

Pyonta moves it's eyes to look behind, then Suwako turns her head toward the shrine's gate.

Kanako asks "something wrong?"

Suwako whispers "Budou?"

Kanako stares at Suwako curiously, then quickly turns her head above the shrine's gate, watching as the two small silhouettes in the sky grow closer, revealing Budou, Phredia and Chen hurrying to the shrine looking frightened and in need of help.

Budou spots the goddesses and shouts "gramma~ Big sister~!"

Both goddesses' faces turn blue when seeing Budou and Chen so unsettled.

They think that the worst has happened to Ail, and as soon as the two girls and the fairy land, Kanako and Suwako rush to them and worriedly Kanako asks "Budou, Chen, what's wrong? Why those faces!?"

Budou whimpers for a moment, then takes a deep breath and says "papa and mama are in danger!"

Suwako immediately turns to Kanako and asks "Kanako, what did you dream about?"

Kanako trembles a bit before gulping and saying "we found Ail, Budou and Sanae lying dead inside his house."

Budou says "huh!? But I'm here! Look, there's this big purple fire covering the house. It tired to eat Chen!"

Chen nods and says "it's true! I saw it!"

Phredia excitedly flies in circles, edging everyone to hurry up and head to Ail's home.

Suwako says "wait, but Sanae's in her room, I saw her entering it earlier!"

Budou looks to the shrine, then smiles, gasps and shouts "MAMA~!!"

She rushes to the surprised Sanae, who is only able to ask "Budou?" before she's hug-tackled to the floor inside the shrine.

Sanae giggles and hugs Budou back, saying "Budou, I haven't seen you in 4 days! Where have you been? Ho..how is Ail?"

Budou gasps and says "wait, but if mama is here...?"

Chen quickly says "Mima said you were with him!"

As Sanae gets back up, Phredia flies to Budou and shakes her little head left and right, then Budou thinks for a moment, saying "hmm, not exactly. Now that I remember it, she said that he was as happy as when he was with mama before."

Sanae asks "alright, what's going on? What happened now?"

Kanako fully wakes up and shouts "Sanae, get your charms and amulets. We're going to Ail's house. Chen, Budou, you go to the..."

Budou quickly flaps her wings and shouts "NO WAY! I'm helping papa this time!"

Chen walks next to Budou and Sanae and says "and we're not taking 'no' for an answer."

Suwako smiles and sighs in defeat, then says "you two lead the way then."

Kanako says "this could get dangerous."

Sanae walks out of the house, holding some charms on her hands and placing them inside her sleeves and says "these two will be fine. Now let's go!"

As they fly by the Youkai Forest, Sanae recognizes the spot where she was sitting when the incident with the mirror happened.

She says "just a second!" then lands near the log she was sitting on before and looks around, saying to herself "let's see... I threw it over here."

She gets surprised when she turns around and finds Kogasa holding Sanae's gohei and smiling with her tongue sticking out and saying "are you looking for this, nee-san?"

-

Ran arrives to the Hakurei Shrine and finds Reimu and Rika having a peaceful soak inside the hot springs.

Ran approaches them and says "of all the lazy- Reimu, there's an incident. We need you!"

After taking a small sip from a tiny cup Reimu casually says "if you're referring to Ail's house, you'll be glad to know it's already being taken care of."

Ran asks "wait, if you already know, why are you...?"

Ran looks further in to the hot spring and spots Yukari, Youmu, and an unsettled Yuyuko, who says "I don't care, Yukari. I want to save him!"

Yukari smiles and calmly says "ara~ Just enjoy the soak. You'll see, this will all be solved before we are done here."

Shocked, Ran says "lady Yukari! So THIS is where you've been!"

Yukari flaps her hand toward Ran and says "don't be a worry-wart and come join us!"

Ran looks away and says "n-no thanks! If any of you haven't noticed, there's a friend in need of help!"

Yukari and Reimu look at each other, then nod.

In a serious tone of voice, Reimu says "as much as we may want to help, if we interfere with him, the yama will have all our heads."

Ran sighs and asks "then what are we supposed to do about this?"

Yukari says "come on in, Ran. Relax. I promise you, and you too Yuyuko, that this incident will be resolved."

Ran sighs in defeat and asks "then what about Chen?"

Reimu exclaims "so Chen's with them? Perfect!"

Yukari adds "she'll be perfect!"

Ran loses her patience and waves a fist at them while shouting "FINE! You can all stay in there if you want, I'm GOING to help them and keep Chen safe!"

Just as she storms away, Yukari opens a gap right under her foot, making Ran fall into the hot spring water.

Ran lifts herself from under the water and after spitting out water she angrily shouts "HEY! I have my clothes on! What's the big idea!?"

Yuyuko places a hand on Ran's shoulders and points to her own clothes, hanging from a branch as they slowly dry up, then says "It's no use. I already tried."

Ran sighs again and says "fine... I guess I'll hang these up to dry."

Yukari smiles and says "that's a good girl. Now you two just relax and enjoy the soak. Everything will be alright."

Youmu and Rika sit next to each other, both with their cheeks bright red and smiling as they sink deeper into the water.

Meanwhile, at Marisa's house, Yuki laughs maniacally as she shoots beams of fire all over Marisa's new basement, lighting up 6 torches and illuminating the otherwise dark room.

Marisa and Mai get up from the ground as soon as Yuki is done, Marisa says "you didn't have to go that crazy, ze."

Yuki smiles and says "well, I haven't had a good fight in a while, so I kinda needed to do that."

Annoyed, Mai says "if you want a fight, I can arrange one for you!"

Yuki smiles and rests her head on her arms as she stretches them behind herself, then says "it's ok. I'm good now. But Marisa, what's with all these magic symbols, equations and calculations?"

Marisa smiles nervously and says "oh, that? I didn't want this place to look too boring."

Mai looks suspiciously at Marisa and says "hmm... and what about that drawing of a door. Looks like some kind of portal opening to me."

Marisa nervously pulls out two thick stacks of money and says "well, here's what I promised you! Thanks for ALL your help. I can take it from here. Don't be strangers!"

As she says this, she pushes the two witches out of the house, and before they can even say "bye" Marisa's already closing her door.

Yuki stares at Mai and says "well... what should we buy with this?"

Mai looks suspiciously at Marisa's house, then says "something strange about that girl..."

Yuki smiles and smacks Mai's back and says "aww, she just wants some alone time! Come on, let's go home. Yumeko is probably missing us."

As they fly away, Mai says "well, I think I'll go on a vacation away from you."

Yuki playfully asks "can I come?"

Mai replies "no, no. That would defeat the purpose."

-

Chen and Budou are the first to land next to Ail's house, followed promptly by Kanako, Suwako and Sanae.

Budou points to the house and says "see? Purple flames!"

Kanako opens her mouth as her face turns purple, while Suwako's face turns as pale as a ghost's.

Sanae can only see a small purple aura, so she says "is this it? We can take it out easily!"

Sanae approaches the house and pulls out a few charms, unaware that the purple flames stretch out a long arm that rushes toward her.

Suwako throws an iron ring toward it, making it disappear, then shouts "place three on the door!"

Sanae grabs three pink charms and tosses them with great skill at the door, two of them sticking on horizontally, while the one above lands vertically.

Kanako begins a chant, then Suwako jumps to her right, shapes both hands into a triangle, and as soon as Kanako finishes her chant, a white blob jumps to the sky, then lands on Suwako's hands, then a white beam with thin green beams twirling around it rush from Suwako's hands as she blows air through the triangle shape she made with her hands.

The beam strikes hard against the door, striking right in between the horizontal and vertical charms, destroying the purple flame almost instantly.

Kanako takes a deep breath and says "get ready everyone. I feel a great force inside."

Sanae bravely nods and Suwako says "Chen, Budou, you stay close to us, and if it seems we're going to lose, you get help, understand!?"

Budou and Chen obediently nod, then follow after the three goddesses as they approach the door.

-

Inside the house, though the curtains are wide open, and the sun outside shines bright, everything looks dim.

Something is blocking the light from entering the house, giving the inside an eerie atmosphere.

Kanako is the first to enter and immediately says "I want you all on high alert. Any movement and you SHOOT! I don't care what it is, you SHOOT!"

From the dark corridor, a woman with Sanae's voice says "oh, that won't be necessary. You'll only find peace and quiet in here."

The last shadow reveals herself, surprising the goddesses and the two girls.

Phredia flies above Budou and places a shielding spell on her and Chen, while Budou stares at the shadow and the real Sanae, and asks "m-mama? Two mama Sannys?"

Sanae's shadow looks exactly like Sanae; same shoes, same clothes, same eyes, same hair-length and color; the only difference that Budou and Chen can see is the wicked look in S-Sanae's smiling face.

Kanako, Suwako and Sanae can see a purple aura that surrounds the shadow, but only Suwako notices some instances when her aura turns blood-red.

Suwako trembles as she points at the shadow and says "so you're the one. You're the one that made Ail get so out of control!"

Kanako gasps and immediately prepares a green orb for the shadow, shouting "do you have any idea the mess you made!?"

S-Sanae giggles and says "why of course! Thank you for noticing!"

The real Sanae's face twists as her own rage rises, gripping her gohei so tight, it looks as though it could snap at any moment.

Suwako calmly asks "where is Ail?"

S-Sanae says "ah, Ail. What a marvelous creature he is. After I was born I followed him around wherever he went, causing all small incidents around him to scale to the point of catastrophe. Oh, that's my little gift, by the way."

Sanae scoffs and says "figures! Now be a good girl and die!"

Sanae unleashes 3 red stars toward her shadow, who simply smiles wickedly as the stars get closer to her, then they vanish long before they can reach her.

She laughs and says "allow me to explain the reason of your failure. You see, unlike that frog's own shadow, I posses the powers and lifespan of a god! Although, I didn't know this until only yesterday."

Suwako, Kanako and Sanae stare at each other for a moment, then S-Sanae continues "you see, for every catastrophe I caused around him, I felt nourished, empowered... oh, what a wonderful feeling. Sure, when I helped you turn him into a dog, that backtracked me a little. He was too relaxed and at peace. I had to make do with his friends. Oh, but Kanako, that mirror idea of ours was simply... inspiring!"

Kanako opens her eyes wide in surprise, then S-Sanae continues "it was I who sent you those beautiful thoughts of your precious Sanae leaving you! It was I who gave you the push you needed when you were about to chicken out, and it was I who took advantage of little Sanae's own rage to empower myself... and 'help' Ail battle you. Mind you... I didn't do all that on my own. The spells must have been a bonus from himself."

Kanako loses her control and unleashes various orbs straight at the shadow, but all her attacks vanish in mid-air, long before reaching the shadow.

S-Sanae laughs and says "oh that's right. You all lost a very valuable source of faith!"

S-Sanae pushes back the darkness from the living room and reveals Ail sitting on the couch with his body fully healed, and a smile on his face as he stares vacantly at the wall in front of him.

Sanae exclaims "AIL! What have you done to him!?"

Budou shouts "PAPA~!" and runs to him, but the moment he sees her he shouts "what the!? A monster in my house!?"

Sanae grabs Budou just as Ail's massive beams are inches away from reaching her.

Ail calms down and says "ah... it's gone. I'll fix those holes later. Now, where were we?"

S-Sanae laughs hard, as if something very funny had just happened, then Sanae glares back at her shadow and says "that wasn't funny!"

-

S-Sanae stares back with a crazed expression and says "you can't reach him. You see, I discovered how faith is so important to a god, so I came to him, he gave me a hug before I could even play the role I had prepared for him, and after that... I healed him and gave him what he needed."

Suwako frowns and whisper "Kanako, keep her distracted."

Kanako nods and says "hey shadow! What are you getting at with this story? Do you really want us to kill you so badly?"

S-Sanae cackles, and in a crazed tone of voice she says "KILL ME!? You FOOL! Right now, all of that boy's faith is pouring down on me! There's no way you pathetic excuse for gods can even touch me!"

Chen asks "what all this talk about faith?"

S-Sanae immediately recomposes herself and says "ah, so glad you asked. See, for a god to live, he or she needs faith from others. Meaning, someone has to believe in us, or we'll weaken and eventually die. But this young male specimen... he's amazing! The amount of faith that pours from him is enough to keep 100 gods alive for a millennia and then some! And he's sending all his faith to ME! You can't hope to touch me Kanako Yasaka and Suwako Mo... Where's the frog!?"

-

Inside the fabricated world, Ail sits on the couch next to Sanae and Budou, and on the two chairs in front, are Kanako and Suwako.

All they do is sit and smile at each other, and occasionally the fake Sanae would say "let's stay like this forever!" then kiss Ail's cheek.

To him, when the real Budou tries to reach him, she looks like a horrible monster with decaying skin and dirty sharp teeth.

He uses and excessive amount of power to destroy it, and after it's gone, he notices the holes he made on the wall and says "I'll fix those holes later. Now where were we?"

The fake Sanae wraps her hands around Ail as he sits back down and says "let's stay like this forever."

The figure of the fake Suwako suddenly disappears, unsettling Ail, then he asks "where did lady Moriya go?"

He looks to his feet and sees Pyonta staring back at him.

He asks "her hat?" and just like that, the real Suwako pops from under the floor and shouts "Ail!"

After she lands she desperately grabs his shoulders and continues "Ail, you have to listen to me! You are under a spell, you have to fight it! This Sanae, this Budou, all fakes!"

Ail looks back with empty eyes and sounding tired he says "I know."

Suwako gasps and stares back with fright. Ail continues "I knew from the moment I touched her that wasn't Sanae, but her shadow."

Suwako continues to stare awestruck and asks "then why aren't you fighting back!?"

Ail stands up, shattering the fabricated world, and sounding tired he replies "I just don't care. Everywhere I go I cause trouble, even without that shadow's help. It's better if I just stay here... besides..."

He slowly walks over to S-Sanae, then looks at the small group and says "she gave me a world where I belong."

Suwako furiously shouts back "you think a fake world inside your own home is a place to belong!? Ail, I thought you were smarter than this!!"

Ail looks back at the small group with an exhausted expression and asks "lady Yasaka, will you use your mirror on me one last time?"

Kanako stares back confused and says "wh-what are you saying? S-stop playing games Ail. Let's beat her and..."

Ail looks back with his exhausted eyes and says "what are you afraid of? I got nothing to hide. Go ahead."

S-Sanae crosses her arms over her chest and with a triumphant smirk on her face she says "she's probably so weakened her mirror isn't working anymore."

Kanako hesitates some more, but just to shut that shadow up, she decides to try the mirror.

She points it at Ail, who nods back at her, giving her permission to look, then Sanae and Kanako look as Ail's reflection slowly fades away and is replaced by a grey curtain of waves.

Kanako and Sanae gasp, then Kanako says "but... how can this be?"

Ail shakes his tired head and says "ever since that day I haven't been able to feel anything... and so, I've come to realize what a lie I've been living. There's nothing for me anywhere, so why am I alive?"

Budou jumps from where she stands and tackles Ail to the ground.

She sits on his chest, and with tears in her eyes and sobbing uncontrollably she says "papa, how can you say that!? Are you saying I am a lie also? *sob*"

Ail looks away, trying to avoid Budou's violet eyes, so Chen shouts "mister Ail, how can you say that to someone who loves you!?"

Ail stops struggling against Budou, and just stares to the side.

Chen continues "lady Ran would NEVER say such things. Those are words for COAWRDS! You just gave in like that and never even though of Budou, did you!? Why, if miss Ran were here she'd have a thing or two to say!"

Kanako notices how the grey waves slowly take a blue tone and slowly continue to turn blue.

Chen continues, furiously saying "you even went to another world to look for Budou, all because you love her too! How can you just push her aside and call your life a lie like that!? A life you share with Budou and all your friends!"

Suwako adds "friends who love and care a lot about you!"

-

Kanako notices how the curtain slowly rises and whisper "keep going, keep going."

S-Sanae says "these two little girls are trouble."

She waves her hands and two pair or orange hands come from underground and grab Chen and Budou.

Budou yelps and cries "papa! Papa, help me!"

Phredia desperately flies toward Budou and tries to pull her free from the hands before she is dragged inside a swirling orange vortex that opens on the floor, then Suwako jumps in and grabs hold of both Budou and Phredia while Sanae holds Chen, shouting "Ail, we need your help!"

Kanako drops her mirror and pulls on Suwako and Sanae while shouting "Ail, stop her. If you don't she's going to take them away forever!"

S-Sanae smiles wickedly and says "beg all you want. As long as his faith is mine, there is nothing you can do."

Ail gets up and stands next to the shadow, and while staring with exhaustion at his friends he says "Lady Yasaka, lady Moriya, Budou, Sanae, Phredia... and even you, Chen. You are all very special friends. I wish I could always protect you, but it turns out I'm the cause of so much trouble... however..."

S-Sanae stares with surprise and fright at Ail as he places a hand on her shoulder and says "that doesn't mean I'm just gonna let my friends down! No, that means I have to fight HARDER for them! To protect them whenever MORE trouble arises! Even if it is my fault!"

S-Sanae screams in agony as the hand Ail placed on her shoulder burns her skin, quickly turning her to black dust.

While this happens, Kanako manages to pull everyone free from the orange hands and the vortex with such force, she falls to the ground along with them.

When they get up, the curtain in Kanako's mirror is gone, and quick images of all of Ail's friends appear in the mirror, from Reimu Hakurei, to Medicine Melancholy, and more.

S-Sanae screams as loud as she can "no~! What about all that faith you placed on me!!?"

Ail shouts back "you were so concerned on your OWN faith you didn't notice I STILL had faith on lady Yasaka and lady Moriya! Now away with you!"

S-Sanae screams again, then vanishes into thin air, only her clothes remain on the floor.

Ail drops to the floor on his knees and breathes heavily.

Budou runs to him but he immediately shout "WAIT! Not yet!"

He lifts his head and notices the concerned look on the goddesses' and Phredia's faces, then says "you understand what happened."

Sanae, Budou and Chen stare back at the others, then Sanae asks "what happened?"

Suwako takes a deep breath and says "she's trying a possession."

Kanako adds "she's going to try and take his body, along with all his faith, his memories and his heart. A desperate move for pathetic gods that can't accept their own fate."

Budou breathes heavily to calm herself down and stop trembling, then asks "what do we do?"

Ail gets up and says "I have the outmost faith in all of you. I trust you. And I trust you won't hold back."

Budou asks "what does he mean?"

Suwako says "he's fighting her for us. There's no other way. We have to weaken his body in order to get her out."

-

Budou starts to cry, saying "I don't want to hurt papa!"

Sanae kneels down next to her and says "not one of us does, but if we want to save him..."

Suwako pats the back of Budou's head and says "we have to do it."

Chen clenches her little fists and says "come one, Budou! He can take ANYTHING we can dish out! Remember how he's beaten all those monsters, and how he's survived all his battles against that scary maiden!"

Phredia flies close to Budou's face, then points at Ail, using her magic to reveal S-Sanae as she tries to take over his body with a wicked smile on her face.

Budou's eyes glow for a moment, and with determination in her eyes, she says "that bad lady copied mama's look and hurt papa! I'll make her PAY!"

Without waiting for another moment, she inhales deeply, then screeches loud, making Ail and S-Sanae inside him cover their ears. Ail shouts back "DON'T STOP! HIT ME HARD!!!"

While Budou has her distracted, Chen pulls out a spell card and shouts "Flight Sign – Flight of Idaten!"

Chen glows red, then starts flying around at incredible speeds, tackling Ail's body while leaving behind red and blue circles of danmaku petals that spread widely around, and combining with the sonic waves if Budou's screech, all the spreading bullets head straight at Ail, all exploding violently.

Ail kneels on the ground once more, breathing heavily as he tries to get up again.

Budou and Chen stop their attack, then Ail shouts "why have you stopped attacking!? She's trying to fight back! She wants to use my powers against you! Stop hesitating! ATTACK!"

Chen regroups with Budou, and at the same time the two girls use their danmaku to continue the attack.

Meanwhile Sanae, Kanako and Suwako hold hands, forming the shape of a triangle between them, and under them, a large magical circle in red, blue and green.

Ail raises his arm, but struggles with himself to pull it back down, shouting "I will NOT let you harm them!"

A blue orb forms on Ail's hand and it absorbs some of Budou's zigzagging lasers, and some of Chen's danmaku orbs.

S-Sanae's wicked smile and voice comes through Ail and says "no matter how much these twerps try, it will never be enough! *GASP!* What? NO!"

A large white beam pierces through the roof of Ail's house and surrounds him.

S-Sanae shouts desperately as she is slowly extracted from Ail's body, while Ail feels as though his insides are being pulled out.

Sanae shouts "Phredia, they needs a holy barrier!"

Phredia places a holy barrier around Budou and Chen, confusing them as she does, then Sanae shouts "when that shadow is out, grab Ail and get him out of there!"

Suwako adds "you have to do this when we tell you, or we could lose him as well!"

Kanako shouts "please, save him! I still haven't apologized properly!"

Ail stops breathing the moment the shadow is fully extracted from his body.

Budou panics, but that's when Sanae shouts "NOW! Budou, Chen, NOW!"

As if already knowing what to do, Chen and Budou run fast toward Ail and jump inside the beam then tackle him out of it at the same time.

Ail reacts and holds on to both, then pushes himself with his energy, successfully escaping the beam with both girls in his arms after some effort.

S-Sanae writhes in pain while inside the beam, and just like that, the beam and the shadow thin down and rapidly rise to the sky, exploding like a bright star in the night, then rapidly, the explosion stops and vanishes.

-

It's late noon at Ail's house.

By now, the hole in the roof made by the goddesses' beam has been patched.

Ail and Sanae are sitting on the couch, with Budou sleeping on Ail's lap, while Chen sleeps on Sanae's.

Phredia stands on Pyonta and while the hat stares cross-eyed at the fairy, Suwako stares with worry at Ail.

Kanako can't take anymore of the awkward silence there's been the entire day and says "Ail, for what it's worth... I am very sorry for all I caused. I..."

For the first time in days, Ail smiles because he feels like it, then says "I never thought I could win against you two, you know. Call me a fool or whatever you want, but I never stopped having faith in you, even when I was that angry. I really thought you were going to kill me there."

Kanako's eyes are filled with great surprise and she quickly lowers her head and says "I'm so sorry!" and Suwako adds "I'm really sorry too! I should have put more effort from my part and stop all that from ever happening."

Ail calmly says "well, I guess it's ok now... but we did say some things... some truths. *Sigh* I don't know how, but I guess we'll have to work on these matters. I would truly hate to lose your friendship."

Sanae sweats and nervously says "err, look, we should go and tell Reimu about that last shadow."

From outside a familiar voice calls "no need! ...Can we come in!?"

They all recognize Reimu's voice, and Ail quickly shouts "of course, of course! Come on in!"

Reimu enters through the door with a smile on her face, saying "well I'm glad to see that everything's worked out in the end."

From behind Reimu comes Byakuren, who waves with a smile and says "glad to see you all back on good terms."

From behind them comes Kyo with a bottle of Sake and shouts "FINALLY! Took you guys long enough!"

From behind them comes Mima, who's holding cat-Maribel on her hands and shouting "the last party of autumn!"

Renko quietly enters afterward, then comes Ran, looking around frantically, asking "where's Chen!? Is she alright? Did she get in trouble!? Where is she!?"

She spots Chen sleeping on Sanae's lap, then looks at Sanae as she quietly shushes her with a smile, then whispers "the two little heroes are asleep."

Yuyuko, Youmu, Rika and Yukari pop all their heads from inside one of Yukari's gaps, then Yuyuko asks "so they really helped that much?"

Ail brushes Budou's head with his fingers as he looks at her, then at Chen, and says "you can say that... they were like a bright light in a dark cave."

Reimu walks closer to him and smiles as she says "so this shadow incident is finally over. About time too!"

In the kitchen, Mima drops Maribel on the ground and grabs Kyo's sake bottle, saying "allow me, hunk!"

She pop-opens the bottle and in comes Luna with fire in her eyes and shouting "Kyo, what the HELL are you doing with this woman!?"

Kyo shouts back "we're just going to have a few drinks! What's wrong with that!?"

Suika enters the door and shouts "PARTY~~!" then starts swinging her gourd around by its string and shortly after there is a loud crashing sound that wakes both Chen and Budou.

Ail, Sanae and Ran surround Suika with murderous smiles, and all scold her at the same time.

Reimu sits next to Budou and Chen, then Rika walks to her mistress and says "my lady Reimu, here's your drink."

Reimu bows and says "thanks. Get something for these two, will you?"

Rika bows and says "I'll prepare a special grape juice mix for them."

Budou's mouth waters and says "YAY~ Grape juice!"

Chen yawns and says "Ran-sama~ I'm hungry!"

Ran shouts "I'll prepare something DELICIOUS!!!"

The goddesses jump from their seats, then Kanako shouts "bring out the drinks cuz' here come the GODS!"

Suwako excitedly flies around and shouts "someone come play danmaku with me!"

Budou and Chen start jumping on the couch, giggling and laughing, while Reimu tries to enjoy her drink, then from under the floor, breaking open the wood flooring, come Yuugi, followed by Parsee, Orin and Koishi. From inside Ail's room come Momiji and Aya, who shouts "who DARES have a drinking contest with me!?"

-

Ail escapes from the noise in his own house and stares at the bright yellow star in the sky through some tree branches. Reimu follows shortly after and says "it's been a long one, hasn't it? Shadows, death... New friends."

Ail sighs and says "and all because I opened the wrong gap at the wrong time."

Reimu asks "do you still want me to seal your powers away?"

Ail thinks for a moment, then closes his eyes and says "not yet. There's a lot more I need to do before all that, I'm sure of it."

Reimu sigh and says "what about Sanae and the goddesses... and Budou?"

Ail looks to the star again and says "Budou has grown a lot, and she has proven she can take care of herself. Besides, I'll be back... it's not like I'm going forever. As for Sanae, Kanako and Suwako... They'll understand."

Reimu smiles and says "you know you'll be missed."

Ail sighs and says "if I don't do this, I'll never know the truth. I can't back away from this decision now."

Reimu replies with a serious face "just don't forget you have many friends here, Ail. They are all willing to help if they can."

From behind, Sanae asks "what are you two talking about now?"

Ail says "the shadows may be gone, but why do I still feel so heavy... so unsettled."

Sanae wants to wrap her arm around his neck, however she is not sure of his reaction now, so she just holds her hands together under her waist and says "a lot of things happened. You can't expect to get over them so quickly."

Ail smiles at Sanae and says "maybe you're right."

There's another loud crash, followed by a danmaku explosion from the house.

Ail's eyes hide under a black shadow as he hesitantly turns around and finds two oversized oni with his roof on their heads, and a frog goddess firing heaving danmaku at a corpse-carrying nekomata, who shoots back with intensity, and a subconscious satori.

Ail twitches, then Sanae says "you... could stay with us until we fix that roof."

Ail slumps and says "Reimu, I TRULLY understand why you hate parties at your shrine."

Reimu sweats as she smiles and flaps her hand in the air, saying "oh cheer up! At least the roof is still in one-"

The oni strike each other's backs and laugh, the vibration of the impact rips the roof in half, then Ail sighs and says "Sanae, I'd be honored if you had me as a guest in your shrine."

Sanae smiles and nods, then giggles nervously and says "I'll... inform lady Moriya and lady Yasaka, then. They'll love having Budou and you over after all this time."

From inside, Budou shouts "come and catch me~!" then Chen shouts back "I can catch you with my legs tied up!"

Another loud crash unsettles Ail some more, then Reimu smiles nervously and says "well, at least they haven't knocked out the lights."

The entire house suddenly goes dark, then Budou and Chen start to cry, then Ail says "well... better get the girls."

Sanae adds "it's gonna be a long one."

Reimu adds "I'll stop talking now."

They walk back inside the house, and just before they enter, Remilia and Sakuya arrive, Remilia immediately saying "such a small house! Sakuya, get some lights at least, geez!"

Sakuya replies "right away, my lady." and just like that, all the lights go back on.

There is yet another loud crash, then Ail shouts "dammit Nazrin, where are you!? That was my last dumpling, you little thief!"

Byakuren shouts "I'm so sorry about her, Ail."

Outside, Nazrin runs on all 4 legs with a dumpling in her mouth, and high above in the sky, Rumia's familiar black blob flies aimlessly around as she asks "is that so~?", then a large washtub falls on her head, knocking her out of her own darkness and crashing against he trees below.

-

The end.......?

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Budou, Phredia & Luna were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

JAN 25 2010

written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N:**

**And so, the shadows have been dealt with and seems like peace is returning to this Touhouverse. Wow, i can't believe how evil I was to some of the characters, though in all honesty, I made this fic thinking the "what-ifs" for certain scenarios, like Entei. I mean, what if Reisen were to rebel for real? What would she do, how would it work? Well, it could be messy... or maybe not.**

**I really enjoyed writing One Random Sukima. Learned I am able to write emotional stories as well as random occurrences. As for Ail and Sanae... I wonder if I should let them hook up? Well, it's fun torturing them like this, though I must say, insane-overpowered-rage-filled-Ail was a bit scary for me, but in the end, I think it all came out alright. Oh, and please don't tell Yukari I made fun of her age.**

**Hmm, Chen and Budou. Maybe I'll have them work as a team for my next fic. Then again, that could be dangerous for those weak to 'moe' overload. Ah well, I'll still do it. Oh, and I'm sorry to you Marisa fans out there. I kept her in the shadows for almost the entire story. *Scratches head* Maybe that's why she won't sell me her hat... oh well. Next time, I promise to give Marisa more screen time. I also need to have some Wriggle mishaps and some more washtubs. They aren't as cheap when you buy them in bulk, mind you, and the strain it give me to open the gap and send them flying toward the desired target can get tiring. Ah well, it's all in good fun. Well, I better stop rambling now. See you next Sukima, my friends, and thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed reading ORS.**

**Oh, I almost forgot. I went back to "Misplaced Sukima" and "Another Misplaced Sukima" to look for some references and to refresh my memories, and I noticed so many errors I didn't see before... I think I'll go and re edit them all. Uuu~ if I had Shou's blessing... ah well, we'll see what happens.  
**


	32. EXTRA

A week has passed since the last shadow was dealt with.

It is now snowing in Gensokyo and all the trees have shed their leaves and the roads are covered in white, and even though it's mostly cloudy, the yellow star left by Suwako's shadow shines brighter than even, allowing itself to be seen even through the clouds.

At the Scarlet Devil Mansion island, a small shadow looms around with a grumbling stomach.

Kali, the shadow of a shadow youkai, holds her grumbling belly and says to herself "I don't care what Kimi says, I need MEAT! I'm SICK of fish and vegetables. Uuu~, even if it's a fairy, I'll eat it... I just want some meat!"

She hovers just above the snow, hiding her ghostly tail under her long black skirt when she hears some giggling coming from the lake's shore.

Without making a sound, she hurries behind a leafless tree and cautiously peeks around it.

She spots Cirno, Daiyousei and a tall, pink-haired woman who says in an annoyed tone "alright Cirno, I'll play with you! Let me just get something from home, and I'll come back."

Cirno cheers "YAY~ Letty's the best!"

Daiyousei suddenly gasps and says "I need to check on something. I'll be back soon Cirno-chan."

Cirno smiles as she shouts back "ok~ Hurry back, Dai-chan!"

Kali thinks "what LUCK! She's all alone. I must be careful though. There aren't many shadows to hide under."

Kali quietly gets closer to Cirno, making absolutely no sound. When she is inches away she starts to drool, keeping her eyes on her prize and concentrating solely on Cirno.

She takes a few ghostly steps back, readying herself to pounce on the unsuspecting ice fairy.

From her right, Yuki jumps from under a large pile of snow just as Kali begins her run, then shouts at the top of her lungs "IT'S JUST LIKE BREAKFAST, ONLY LIGHTER THAN AIR!!! A~HAHAHA~!"

Cirno screams in terror as she flies away with tears in her eyes, and Kali's heart stops for a moment.

The shadow's body turns to stone, then cracks, making a loud thud as she falls on the ground.

Yuki stares curiously as the stoned body rolls all the way to the shore, then sinks in the water almost immediately.

Yuki scratches her head, then shrugs with a smile and says "well, I was hoping for more, but I guess that'll have to do!"

She casually walks away toward the mansion, then says "oh that's right. I forgot to feed my pet again. Eh, Mai's probably taking care of it right now."

At Makai, Mai flaps her angel wings as she flies away from a huge dark shadow under the lake, looking on with horror as the shadow gets closer.

She reaches the shore and rapidly crawls away from the lake water, and when she's far away enough, she laughs for a moment while lying on the ground, then stops and smiles ominously as she says in a low tone of voice "I am going to kill that idiot."

She takes one last breath of relief and sits up.

A colossal ell-like creature jumps from inside the water and gobbles up Mai, along with some trees and part of the ground, then sinks back into the watery depths.

From the palace, Yumeko shouts "Mai~, did you feed Yuki's pet? ...Mai~?"

-

At the Forest of Magic, in Marisa's house.

Marisa is busily writing symbols and drawing many magic circles on the walls of her new basement.

She looks into an open book she has on a small table, then looks at the walls, then back at the book, then grips her own hair and angrily says "grr! That's not it, dammit! Uu-, gonna have to do all this AGAIN! ...Oh? What's this sudden pressure?"

At Alice's house, Shinki and Shanghai lie on the snow, making snow angels and having a good time.

Alice comes from inside the house, and looking embarrassed she says "mom, aren't you a little too old for this? Get up before somebody sees you!"

Shinki smiles at Alice and says "Alice, you should try to have some fun once in a while."

Hourai pops her head from behind Alice's back and says "but the snow is so cold!"

From the ground next to Shinki, Shanghai says "but it's still fun. Mama Alice should try this!"

Alice places her hand on the right side of her face and says "ugh! How can I say no to that face!?"

Even though it's daytime and there aren't that many clouds, it starts to get very dark.

Alice gets nervous and asks "mom, what is this? ...Mom, are you-? *gasp*"

Alice notices Shinki is lying on the ground curled up and hugging her knees while trembling and crying.

Alice gets nervous and shouts "MOM! Mom what's wrong!? ...Shinki!?"

Shinki sees a ghostly image of herself using that final spell that destroyed Makai and she watches in horror how the powerful beams and bullets destroy the lands below her ghostly self, and how many plea for their lives just before the powerful spell reaches them and obliterates them.

Just like that, the darkness leaves and the ghostly image of Shinki vanishes.

Alice has dragged Shinki back inside the house and placed her on a bed by the time she wakes up.

Shinki looks around and sees Alice worried face, then asks "A-Alice... Alice, child, what happened? Did you escape the spell on time?"

Alice asks "mom, what spell? You suddenly started trembling and crying and you wouldn't move. I was so scared!"

Shinki gulps and says "I... I think I just relieved the moment I carelessly used that spell and destroyed Makai."

Alice and the dolls all stare concernedly toward Shinki as she rubs the side of her head, then starts to cry. Alice leans over and gives Shinki a much needed hug for support.

-

At Entei, Kaguya sits under the kotatsu in the living room and drinking from a cup.

Eirin walks by her and casually says "good morning princess. I am surprised to see you awake so early."

Before Kaguya can answer, the entire mansion gets dark.

From outside, Tewi watches as a colossal black blob consumes the entire mansion; when she gets close and tries to touch it, she gets pushed back with great force.

Inside, she hears Reisen's voice, screaming "NOOO~!! DON'T DIE ON ME!!"

Tewi panics and shouts "whoa, what's going on!!? What the hell is this thing!?"

Inside the dark mansion, after hearing Reisen's scream, Kaguya says in a commanding tone "Eirin, go check on her!"

When Eirin doesn't respond immediately, Kaguya asks "Eirin, are you listening?"

Eirin is on the ground on her knees and one arm while grasping her chest with the other arm, and on her face, an expression of terror.

Eirin falls on the floor on her side while thinking "what is this? Fear? What am I afraid of? I need to focus. The princess needs me. Focus, Eirin. Focus! Gah! I can't... it's just too much. I can't stop shivering. Help me... Someone help me!"

Kaguya kneels beside Eirin and tries to lift her up while saying "Eirin, what's wrong!? This is no time for jokes! Eh?"

The sliding doors from Reisen's room burst open, and Reisen rushes out wildly using her Lunatic Eyes and shouting "I won't let you kill me!"

Kaguya backs away, pulling out a spell card and the jeweled branch, but before she is able to declare her spell, she realizes Reisen is fighting against a horde of specters from her past, while alongside her former war companions in the moon.

Kaguya shouts "what is the meaning of this!?" and just like that, the darkness is replaced by dim sunlight; the specters leave, and Eirin manages to recover herself while Reisen drops on her knees, breathing heavily and holding her chest while repeating "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

Tewi enters the mansion and asks "is everyone alright? That black blob left just now, and I swear I heard Reisen..."

Tewi looks at the collapsed moon rabbit, then at Kaguya helping Eirin up.

Kaguya stares back and says "Inaba, please send a message to the Hakurei Maiden."

Meanwhile, at the Ail's house, the black blob is already on top of the house.

Budou flies around, desperately looking for the door, while Ail kneels on the ground holding on to his stomach.

He's surrounded by three human specters that continue to kick him while laughing and saying "you think we'd be friends with the likes of you!? Just die, you FREAK!"

All the specters laugh after kicking Ail on the back of his neck, then suddenly, like in Entei, the darkness leaves and Ail slowly recovers himself.

Budou quickly flies to Ail and places an arm on his back, asking "papa, are you alright!? Why were those ghosts kicking you like that!?"

Ail breathes heavily for a moment, then struggles to say "Budou... we... need to go... to Hakurei..."

Budou pats Ail's head and says "ok, ok, no talking now. Rest, then we go!"

-

At the Human Village, Kyo is using all his strength and power to try and cut a hole on the black blob that's surrounding Maribel and Renko's house.

Inside, they can hear the two girls crying, which despairs Luna as she tries to break through the black blob with her gun-blades.

Kyo shouts "Luna, take it easy!"

Luna shouts back "but the girls!"

Inside, Maribel and Renko lie on their knees, hugging each other, as Gensokyo around them slowly breaks away and turns into another city of the outside world.

All the fairies, the youkai and the peace die along with Gensokyo.

A specter of Reimu's dead body lies next to them and constantly stares at them with empty eyes, making them cry harder every time.

At the Moriya Shrine, Sanae exits the shrine and waves at Suwako, who waves back while blessing the trees she's already helped grow so much.

Before Sanae can greet her, she watches in horror as a black blob quickly descends from the cloud and falls right on top of Suwako.

Sanae shouts "lady Suwako! Lady Kanako, something's..."

Inside her room, Kanako jumps from her futon when she hears Sanae's scream, then notices how the entire shrine turns pitch-black, even though it's morning.

She rushes out of her room calling out to Sanae and Suwako, then finds Sanae lying on the ground, desperately trying to breath.

Kanako runs to her and immediately drops to her knees and watches in horror as Sanae's face turns blue.

She shouts "Sanae! Sanae, breathe! Breathe, dammit all!"

The black blobs suddenly leave back to the sky, and just like that, Sanae takes a deep breath, saving herself from suffocation.

Suwako slowly gets up with her eyes puffy, red and full of tears and sobbing "the-the trees... No nature! That's horrible."

After making sure Sanae is alright, Kanako rushes to Suwako, but before reaching her she watches as various more black blobs from all over Gensokyo rise toward the cloud-infested skies.

Kanako growls softly and says "one incident after another."

-

At the SDM's gates, there is another small black blob consuming the front gates.

Inside, Meiling manages to keep Yuki on her feet while walking and saying "it's alright, it's alright. I got you."

Yuki starts to sob, and is unable to reply, then Yumeko's specter appears in front of Meiling and Yuki, then says "such an impertinent child. I swear, you put one more TOE out of line, and I'm kicking you OUT!"

Meiling tenderly says "don't listen to that thing."

Yuki sobs "my family hates me."

Meiling softly replies "your family would never hate you. These creatures aren't your family. Trust me, I know what I'm saying."

A specter of Shinki appears on their left and says "Yuki, why the HELL did I bring you to life!? You're only a pest! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Meiling feels as Yuki's body suddenly turns heavier and violently trembles.

Meiling softly says "a real mother would never say such things to her child. No matter what."

Meiling touches a wall and says "this is it... I'm going to put you down so I can break this thing open."

The moment Meiling sets Yuki on her knees, Mai and Alice's specter appear farther away, then laugh and Mai says "what a pathetic thing. She needs to call attention to herself, just to feel wanted."

Alice laughs and says "yeah. Say, why don't we just leave her here to rot on her own!?" then Mai replies "good idea!"

Both specters laugh, then Meiling summons a colorful energy on her right hand, then punches the wall hard, shattering the blob into pieces, then turns to Yuki, who continues to sob while kneeling on the snow, then softly says to her "don't let those creatures get to you. Your family loves you no matter what. Not even if you make them mad; they will always love you and be there for you."

Yuki lifts her head to Meiling, and after seeing her smile she can't help but smile back, dry up her tears and say "thank you."

-

Meiling looks horrorstruck toward the mansion, after witnessing two black blobs fall from the sky on each of the mistresses' bedrooms.

She can hear Sakuya calling out to Remilia, while nobody calls for Flandre.

She looks at Yuki and hurriedly says "I better check on the young mistress!"

Inside the black blob, Flandre relives 500 years of solitude in just a few seconds and feels as though her mind is about to blow up.

The only thing she can hear, other than the buzzing sound inside her mind, is the feint voice of Meiling calling out to her.

Inside Remilia's room, Sakuya holds her mistress against her chest and continues to tenderly shush her and say "it's alright, my lady. It's not really that scary to grow older. You just need to accept it as it is. Besides, you know only too well, you can never grow old."

Remilia's wings tremble along with her entire body as she replies "b-but... what about that story from Ail. I'll lose you, Meiling... and Patchy too. Sakuya, I order you to stop time forever!"

Sakuya looks sadly at the floor behind Remilia and says "I'm very sorry, my lady, but even if I could do that... I would still..."

Back at Flandre's room, Meiling has managed to convince Flandre to walk toward her voice.

Staring with empty eyes, Flandre places her hand on the blob's wall and sounding drained, she asks "Meiling... big sister? What... what should I do now?"

From outside, Meiling desperately punches the outside of the blob, even after being pushed back numerous times, she quickly recovers and tires again.

After Hearing Flandre's voice coming from inside, Meiling stops punching the orb shouts "listen carefully! I want you to hit that wall. Break it, Flandre! Like you used to do before!"

Flandre continues to stare with empty eyes as she remembers how life was before Ail's intrusion.

She remembers the innocent, yet deadly fun she had destroying everything around her.

She starts to smile in a most twisted manner, then sighs and recovers her innocent face.

She pulls out a spell card from under her puffy hat and shouts "Taboo – Lavatein!!"

A scarlet sword materializes on the same hand Flandre had her spell cared, then Flandre swings it with all her might, trailing danmaku shards behind the blade, and strikes the wall hard, shattering it with ease.

From outside, Meiling jumps away from the bullets just as the blob shatters, then quickly gets up from the ground and looks for Flandre.

The little vampire stands with a smile on her face, then takes a step toward Meiling, who catches her just as she falls exhausted.

Meiling smiles and says "my lady Flandre, you did it!"

Flandre places her hand on Meiling's cheek, smiles, then weakly says "thank you... big sister." then falls asleep on Meiling's hands.

-

The next day, at the Hakurei Shrine.

Reimu and Rika sweep the still thin coating of snow from the shrine's courtyard, while talking about the incidents all around Gensokyo.

Reimu stops sweeping for a moment, then thinks "Yuka, Momiji, Byakuren, Yuyuko... Everyone's whose shadow is dead were attacked by a black blob. Each one experiencing something terrible inside of it. Something that disables their minds."

Rika says "from what the gate guard says, the only way to beat these things is to break them from inside."

Reimu replies "true, but Momiji and Sanae can't move at all while in there, so there would have to be someone with them for support."

Rika stares back at Reimu and says "well, you have ME, miss Reimu, so don't you worry! If one of those black blobs comes this way, your Rika will support you!"

Reimu smiles back at Rika, then continues sweeping, and after turning around, she giggles quietly while smiling to herself.

Meanwhile, Budou and Phredia fly next to Ail, looking worriedly at him.

Budou sighs and says "papa, are you SURE you're ok!?"

Ail smiles and says "yes Budou! Thanks to you, that memory from my past is gone. Now, we have to hurry. I have a very bad feeling for Reimu!"

Phredia flies in circles around Budou, then points at the Hakurei Shrine.

Ail shouts "NO! We're too late..." then asks "Budou, do you feel that?"

Budou lands next to Ail on the shrine's stairs, then asks "feel what?"

Ail says "...it's like a very powerful emotion coming from the blob. Like... great sorrow."

Inside the black blob, Reimu and Rika hold on to their chests.

Rika says "thi-this sadness... this anger... all this sorrow! My lady, what is this!?"

Reimu breathes heavily for a moment, then says "I felt something like this before... it was..."

Reimu manages to look to the sky and flying above her is a tall woman entirely surrounded by a ghostly blue aura, 6 angel wings, wearing a long blue robe with white long sleeves, long white hair that reaches down to her knees, blue eyes, and holding on to a wand.

Reimu's eyes fill with undeniable horror as she points at the woman and says "this can't be! I killed you!"

Rika asks "miss Reimu, what's the matter!? Who is this poor creature!"

Reimu pulls out her gohei and some charms from under her sleeves and says "This is Sariel... a fallen angel I had to kill in Makai, on the first large-scale incident I had to resolve."

Sariel suddenly unleashes a barrage of bullets straight on to the shrine itself, breaking a chunk of the roof in just seconds.

Rika shouts "why is she doing that!?"

Reimu stares determined at Sariel and says "I'm sorry... but I'll have to kill you again."

Sariel responds with another barrage of bullets headed straight at Reimu.

Rika jumps to her misters, knocking her out of the way of the bullet shower, and before Reimu can call for her, Rika is showered by the bullets meant for herself.

Reimu watches in horror as Rika falls to the cold snow and stops moving.

Reimu calls for Rika, saying "Rika, get up! That's an order!" but there's no reply.

Reimu angrily stares at Sariel, points at her with her gohei, then says "you stepped way out of the line!"

-

Reimu flies above Sariel, surprising the Angel of Death, and with a smirk on her face, she says "this time I'm going to make SURE you stay dead!"

Reimu unleashes her charms straight at Sariel, who doesn't even block the attack and fires countless bullets at Reimu, but once she feels the burns from the charms she quickly stops attacking and uses her wand to block the remaining charms headed her way.

Reimu is not done yet. She disappears from sight for a moment, and when she appears again she fires 5 large red needles that pierce the fallen angel's skin.

Sariel opens her mouth, but no sound come from it. Instead, a low frequency shriek echoes around, affecting Budou outside the blob, the fairies that surround the shrine, and Reimu's attacks, turning them useless as soon as they touch the invisible sound waves.

Reimu realizes what's happening, so she flies close to the angel, realizing Sariel actually 5 times her own size.

Reimu ignores the difference in size and continues her attack, then tosses a yellow amulet that shuts Sariel's mouth, then continues to shoot her charms on the angel's skin.

Sariel tries to swat Reimu with her hands and wings, but Reimu nimbly dodges each and every attempt, then gets away from the angel and pulls out a spell card from her sleeve, then smiling at Sariel she says "and now, to finish you off. Fantasy Heaven!"

Reimu closes her eyes and 7 white yin-yang orbs surround her and fly all around her.

Sariel stares curiously for a moment, then panics and tries to fly away. Lightning strikes the angel and stops her from escaping.

Under her, Rika holds her thunder sword up high, pointing it at Sariel and saying "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to escape."

Reimu smiles when she feels Rika's presence, then the orbs around her start to glow and countless amulets fly all around, shattering the dark blob and trapping Sariel.

Even though the blob is gone, the damage to the shrine remains... and so does Sariel, who is unable to escape Reimu's attack in time, and just as Rika releases the angel from the lightning, ever single amulet flies straight at the fallen angel and cling on to her, covering her entirely, then there's a blinding flash.

After the flash stops, Reimu and Rika look to where Sariel was, but see only ashes falling to the ground below.

-

Ail carries the dazed Budou all the way up the stairs of the shrine, while Phredia heals her as she sits on her chest.

Once they arrive, they notice many burn marks all over the ground, the snow, and the destroyed roof.

He looks around and shouts "Reimu!? Rika!? Is anybody there!?"

From the roof, full of burn marks and some dirt on her face, Rika peeks over to Ail and shouts "over here! We're just patching the roof so we can start repairs!"

Ail asks "where's Reimu? What happened to you? What happened to the roof!?"

Rika signals Ail to go to the entrance, so he rushes there and quickly finds Reimu sitting on the porch and staring at the storage house.

Budou hangs her head from Ail's arms and asks "Hakurei sis, what's wrong?"

Reimu stares at Ail and says "good... you're here!"

Reimu stands aside while Ail looks at her curiously, revealing beside her S-Suwako and S-Shinki, both wearing white robes, though S-Shinki's is twice her own size.

Both shadows smile and wave at Ail with a "hi~!" then Ail says "wh-what? But... you died... and you too."

Reimu seriously says "unfortunately, we don't have time for questions."

S-Suwako says "oh, time doesn't matter, miss Reimu. We could just stop it for a moment again."

Reimu sighs and says "I believe it would be for the best."

Both shadows close their eyes and surround a small area of the Hakurei Shrine in a soft golden light.

Outside the light, time stops moving, and when Ail notices this he asks "what is this all about?"

Reimu stares seriously at him, takes Budou from his arms, then says "listen carefully to what they have to say", then sits on the porch with Budou on her lap.

Ail looks at the two former shadows and realizes each has a large pair of white angel wings as well as having shrunk to the size of human children.

Instinctively, Ail kneels to them and says "m-my apologies. I didn't know!"

S-Suwako says "please, don't you do that too."

S-Shinki says "honestly, if Alice and Shinki do that to me, I'm going to cry!"

S-Suwako says "please, you are a friend. Do you think I would ask you to do that?"

Ail blushes a bit as he gets up and says "no... I'm sure you wouldn't."

S-Suwako and S-Shinki both stare at Ail with urgency, then S-Suwako ways "Ail, we came down here because you, of all people, need help. Sadly, there is very little we can do to actually help you."

Ail says "wait, if you're talking about the incident with the goddesses, we've already-"

S-Suwako lifts her hand, signaling Ail to stop, then says "no, you still haven't resolved anything. Ail, the reason that shadow affected you so easily, the reason you manifested all those spells without using spell cards, is because of an old foe that continues to link its fate to yours, regardless of how much you try to rid yourself from him."

Ail opens his eyes wide, but before he says anything, S-Shinki, looking serious at Ail says "yes, you are correct. The same spirit that possessed you so long ago has been cursing your entire existence."

Ail asks "but wait, what about those black blobs? Is that him too?"

Both girls lightly nod, then S-Suwako says "those black blobs are the manifested hatred from all the other shadows you all had to kill, all empowered by that demonic spirit. But forget about those. Miss Reimu will take care of that. YOU, on the other hand, will have to concentrate on this task."

Ail asks "what is this... task?"

Reimu angrily says "I am COMPLETELY against this! What if a yama finds him there!? What if he gets burned to a crisp!?"

S-Suwako shakes her head lightly at Reimu, then turns to face Ail and asks "do you still have that mask and cloak? The one blessed by the goddess from Makai?"

Ail quietly nods, then S-Shinki giggles and says "then you are set!"

-

Confused, Ail paces around and asks "why are you asking this? What do you want me to do? How do I rid myself of that spirit for good!?"

S-Suwako says "calm down and listen. You are going to have to enter hell, and I'm not talking about that subterranean one, I'm talking the one where the yamas keep all their sinners."

Ail opens his eyes wide and backs away, shouting "whoa, whoa, whoa~! Are you two INSANE!?"

S-Shinki pouts and says "nii-sama is a meanie" then S-Suwako nods and says "I have to agree."

Reimu continues to hold the confused Budou on her arms as she takes a step forward after springing on her feet and says "well, I have to agree with him on this one! What if he's found!? What if he dies in there!? He'll disappear forever and you know it!"

Budou reacts to this and shouts "no way! You want to put papa in danger this soon after recovering!?"

S-Suwako looks sadly at Budou, then says "it's the only way from stopping those blobs from appearing, and the ONLY WAY Ail can have a normal life. If that thing continues to link itself to Ail, it'll eventually kill him, long before his time is up, AND if he doesn't do this, those black blobs will continue to fall upon all of you, not just those whose shadows have died."

Reimu tries to argue, but she can't find anything to defend Ail with.

Ail himself feels pressured and unsettled at this sudden request, but courage slowly grows from his heart, and with determination Ail asks "what will I have to do?"

Reimu and Budou complain, but Ail says to them "that thing has been messing with my life for FAR too long, and now it's messing with my friends, and it could even hurt Budou!"

Budou and Reimu settle down while S-Suwako says "I am sorry, I truly am. I... we both tried to look for another answer, another way, but we couldn't."

S-Shinki smiles as she gets close to Ail, then giggles and says "he'll be just fine anyway."

S-Suwako nods, then smiles as she says "as for what you have to do. You need that mask and cloak on. We got permission to bless both the mask and cloak so that they can protect your identity, and prevent you from burning to a crisp when you go there. And also... take this."

S-Shinki skips merrily toward Ail and pulls out a sword from under her robe.

The sword has a golden hilt with a red triangular gem on its center, and the blade is broad at the bottom, and thinner and much sharper at the tip.

The sword is the size of Ail's torso, and when he grabs it he realizes it's also very heavy.

He looks at S-Shinki and says "wow. How can you carry this thing so easily when it weighs this much?"

S-Shinki jumps and slaps Ail's face, then says "you shouldn't ask a girl about her personal secrets!"

S-Suwako says "you have to use that sword and cut the tail of that spirit in order to completely break the bond it's made to you..."

S-Shinki looks up to the sky and says "oops, it's time to go now, sis."

S-Suwako and S-Shinki start to float away, breaking the time-stopping spell, then S-Suwako says "Reimu, you do your best to keep everyone alive and sane! Ail, you do your best, and NEVER remove that mask and cloak while inside hell."

S-Shinki's voice echoes as she giggles, then says "unless you want to burn to a crisp in an instant."

Then both disappear and turn back to yellow stars. One heads back to Makai, while the other sets itself above Gensokyo once more.

-

Ail, Budou, Reimu and Rika all sit quietly inside the shrine.

Ail breaks the silence and says "I'm going, right now!"

Reimu desperately shouts "no! Ail, let's look for another way! There has to be!"

Ail asks "and give those shadows the chance to hurt Budou? Let them kill Sanae? Drive Suwako, Remilia and all our friends insane!? Reimu, I must do this. If not for myself, I'm doing this for my friends and for Budou!"

Budou stares quietly at the table with a saddened face, so Phredia rubs her head, making her giggle lightly.

Rika says "mister Ail, I swear, if you die down there, I'm going to look for your spirit and beat you to a pulp!"

Reimu laughs at Rika's comment while a tear escapes her eye.

She taps Ail's head with her gohei, then says "I'll hit you harder when you return."

Ail chuckles, then says "Budou, help your Hakurei sis if she asks, alright."

Budou sighs and says "alright papa..."

Reimu asks "what do I tell the others?"

Ail walks out of the shrine, turns his head toward Reimu, then says "the truth!" then flies away.

After he leaves there is a long silence as the tension builds up inside the shrine.

Budou lifts both arms and bangs hard on the table, then says "I need to get stronger! I NEED to help papa Ail! I can never help when he really needs it!"

Rika grabs Budou and sits her on her lap, then brushes her hair with her fingers and says "that's not true. You helped him a whole bunch last week. You took care of him, you brought him back from that depression, and now..."

Reimu sits down with a worried smile on her face and says "now you give him a reason to give it his all so he can return."

Budou pouts and says "well that's not enough! I want to help him! Protect him from all those that bully him so much! I have to learn how to fight! Like you, miss Rika!"

Rika panics and says "eh!? I... don't think I can help you, little one. I mean, I could teach you a thing or two, but I don't know how good of a teacher I could be!"

Reimu moves next to Budou and Rika, and with a serious expression she says "right now he needs help. If we can destroy a few more of those black blobs, maybe his task will become a little easier."

Budou looks into Reimu's eyes and asks "and do you think I could really help with that?"

Reimu stands up and points with her gohei toward the Youkai Mountain and says "let's start by breaking the ones at the Moriya Shrine. What do you say, Budou... Rika?"

Budou lifts her head, showing great excitement, and Rika looks curiously at Reimu and asks "but what about the roof?"

Reimu looks up, then asks "what about it?"

Rika and Budou look to the ceiling and realize it's been restored and even reinforced.

They look back at Reimu, smile, then Rika says "your Rika will go with you, my lady!"

Budou lifts her right fist in the air and shouts "if it's for my friends and my papa, I will not fail!"

-

Ail stands at the far edge of where the Sanzu river is; far enough, he hopes, to avoid Komachi's detection.

He wears the long thick light-blue cloak that Shinki had unknowingly blessed with its hood on, and on his right hand, the sword the shadows gave him, while on his left he holds the white mast with the uncovered left eye, and just stares.

He feels as though his heart is beating fast enough to pop out of his chest at any moment, and his hands feel so cold the cool snowy winds hitting his body feel warm in comparison.

He places the mask on and covers the rest of his body with his cloak, then flies straight toward the river.

Meanwhile, at the Moriya Shrine, Sanae stands on the shrine's porch, holding her chest and saying to herself "why... why do I feel so sad so suddenly? M-maybe I'm just tired."

At Makai, Yuki cautiously enters Pandemonium's dining room, where Shinki, Luize, Alice, Mai and Yumeko are having some tea, all looking concerned at Shinki, who smiles nervously and says "look, I told you I'm ok. I was just caught by surprised yesterday, that's all."

Shinki notices Yuki at the door and says "Yuki, where have you been?"

Yuki looks nervously at them and slowly enters the room.

Shinki asks "Yuki, are you ok? You look terrible."

Yuki mumbles softly, then Luize asks "oh my, are you hurt?"

Mai gets angry and storm up from her chair and heads toward Yuki, then angrily asks "ok, what's wrong with you now!? Oh, did you know you forgot to feed your PET yesterday. Honestly Yuki, it took me HOURS to get out of his mouth and FINALLY feed him properly!"

Yuki doesn't answer, so Yumeko gets irritated and asks "Yuki, don't you have something to say?"

Yuki looks at Mai with sad and glassy eyes and asks "do... you hate me?"

Mai stares back with surprise and nervously asks "w-w-what are you saying? Have you lost your mind?"

Yuki fidgets with her hands and looks away with a sad-puppy face and slouches a little.

Mai looks back at Yumeko and Shinki, then both shrug, then Alice gets her attention and nods.

Mai turns to Yuki, sighs loudly, then says "no, of course not."

Yuki gets surrounded by blooming yellow flowers as she smiles at Mai, then hugs her, surprising and scaring her at the same time.

Mai blushes and shouts "HEY WAIT A MINUTE, WHAT GIVES!? What's the meaning of this!?"

Luize says "aww, how adorable."

Shinki adds "what a beautiful moment this is."

Mai shouts back "NO WAY~! Are you enjoying this!? Get her OFF ME!"

Yuki continues to hug Mai's waist, then places her face on the ice witch's belly, then says "you love me~."

Mai freezes with a shocked face, then shouts "I think someone's in need of a nap, don't you THINK!?"

Yumeko casually says "don't be rude and hug your sister back."

Yuki says "you love me~!"

Mai's screams can be heard from outside as she shouts "what the hell is this turning into~!"

Shinki adds "group hug~" then Mai shouts "I'm not liking this weird atmosphere~!

-

To be continued...

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Luna, Budou, Phredia, Kali and Kimi were created by Willie G.R

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

JAN 26 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.


	33. HELLBOUND

It's early noon.

Komachi lies on the cold snow with her scythe to her right, and slowly, her eyes start to close.

Her eyelids feel heavier as her body relaxes on the cold snow, and even though she knows falling asleep on the snow would be a bad idea, she thinks "just... gonna rest my eyes and get up quickly before..."

She notices a beam of light in the sky heading toward the Sanzu River.

She immediately wakes up and grabs her scythe, glaring angrily at the beam of light and saying "how DARE you try to fly other the river! I'm going to have to teach you a... oh wait."

She focuses her eyes and notices the mask and cloak, then says "...it's one of the guards. I wonder what's he doing here?"

She shrugs and looks away, then says to herself "well, as long as he didn't see me, he won't report me to Shiki-sama!"

To her right, a strict girl's voice says "neglecting your duties again!?"

Terror fills Komachi's face as she looks toward the angry glowing eyes to her right and exclaims "Shi-Shiki-sama! I wasn't sleeping! I-I was just resting my eyes for a second, I swear!"

A golden sword strikes Komachi's head, leaving a large steaming lump on her head.

While she rubs her lump and pouts, Shikieiki says "I'll scold you later. We have some work to do in there."

Komachi's face fills with horror once again. She trembles and sweats as she asks "y-you mean... down there...?"

With a serious face, Shiki looks to the sky as the beam of light falls straight toward the river and says "yes. There's an intruder in there, and it's up to us to find him before somebody else does."

Komachi gulps and sounding frightened, she asks "who would be stupid enough to want to enter that place?" Shiki hides a small smile with her sword and says "an idiot in search of hope."

-

As soon as he puts on the mask, Ail flies from the farthest shores of the Sanzu River and heads toward it while flying higher and higher.

The moment he's right on top of the river, just like he expected, his power of flight stops working, so he falls straight on to the water.

As he falls, he wills himself to continue forward, then realizes he can still use small magical bursts to impulse himself, so he positions himself to fall on the water on his feet, and just before touching the water, the soles on his shoes expand and inflate a little.

Inside the mask he smiles as he thinks "Nitori. I wonder how long will THIS addition work?"

Using well-timed magical impulses and the inflated soles on his shoes, Ail skates on the water, heading straight to the patch of land at the other side.

He notices many strange arms, claws and tentacles reaching out to him, probably to drag him down with them.

He swerves, twirls and jumps over these obstacles as he gets closer to his goal, then all the obstacles just disappear underwater.

Ail knows this isn't good, and just as he suspected, something worse emerges from underwater.

A creature that looks like a mixture of a giant brown eel and a whale with whiskers around the mouth jumps over his head with its mouth wide open, bearing thousands of jagged teeth.

Ail ducks at the last possible second while pushing himself with another magical burst, avoiding the creature's mouth, it's body, then it's tail after using another quick magical impulse.

Land is just a few feet away from him; Ail tries to hurry before the creature tries to jump at him again.

To his dismay, the creature is right behind him, determined to take him down to the depths of the river with it, jumping high in the air and aiming to eat him, however, Ail has no intention of dying just yet, so in one last ditch effort, he jumps and impulses himself with a heavy magical burst, and as soon as he's clear from the river he realizes he can fly again, so without wasting another moment, he flies up and away from the shores, where the creature lands and strands itself.

After his shoes deflate, making a loud rude noise, Ail looks back as the monster wails sadly, unable to return to the river.

The creature's cry seems to affect him, making him feel depressed, so he turns around and lands close to the creature. He looks into the creature's three left side eyes, then nods.

As if understanding Ail's intentions, the creature rocks itself until it rocks hard enough to lift its body, then Ail concentrates and shoots a water ball twice his own size at the creature's belly, helping it roll back to the water.

After falling in, the creature sinks, causing Ail's heart to fill with despair. He thinks of going after it, but remembers that the moment he touches that water, he'll suffer a fate worse than death.

The creature pops its head out of the water away from the shore, giving Ail a much needed reassurance of it's well being, then as it swims away it sings a beautiful song that seems to soothe Ail and restore the energy he wasted when crossing the river.

Ail smiles under the mask, then quickly turns around and walks away.

-

After walking for 30 minutes, Ail finds himself in front of two very familiar large doors.

The building in front of him looks like a large white dome supported by dark-blue walls and surrounded by many gargoyle statues, all diligently watching over the surroundings.

Ail wastes no time in pushing open one of the doors, expecting to find Shikieiki staring down at him from her platform, but to his surprise, the courtroom is completely empty.

He walks toward Shiki's platform and looks to his left, and sees the stairs to heaven, then to his right, and sees his destination... the gate leading to the hole to Hell.

He takes a deep breath and quickly walks over, opens the gate, and stands next to the hole, closes his eyes, then lets himself drop in.

The moment he feels the overwhelming and suffocating heat of hell he opens his eyes and starts to fly.

The cloak wraps around his body, startling him as it does, then the sword the shadows gave him starts floating around him, surrounded by a golden aura.

Ail relaxes and realizes the cloak has become like part of his skin. He feels he can breathe a little easier, and the scorching heat of hell doesn't feel as bad anymore.

After relaxing, Ail takes a look around. The floors are dark and full of dirty-looking bones and skulls, and everywhere he looks, a stream of bright magma flows all around.

He watches as the spirits all moan and beg for water and something comfortable, maybe even some decent clothes, but a strange large and bulky horned creature bathed in flames surfaces from a crater and starts to strike them all with a fiery whip, then wraps a few of them with the whip itself and tosses them toward the stream of magma.

All of them burn in the scorching river, but they can't die. Ail shivers at the sight, then looks in front of him.

Ahead of him, an orange mist blocks his view, but from what little he can see, he knows there are many dangerous formations and obstacles ahead.

He takes a deep breath to relax, then flies straight forward.

-

Back at Gensokyo, at the Moriya Shrine.

Reimu is sitting next to Sanae and Budou as Sanae confidently says "look, I'm not saying it's fun to feel like you're dying from suffocation, but that blob hasn't returned, and I'm sure it won't return."

Concerned and irritated, Reimu replies "Sanae, these things keep coming back if you don't destroy them! Yours is probably just slow."

Sanae replies "you're worrying over nothing. Now, can someone tell me why Ail isn't with us right now?"

Budou twitches and Reimu drops her mug of tea. Sanae sweats and asks "what? What happened now? I-is he hurt? Come on, say something!"

Inside the shrine, Rika and Kanako overhear the conversation, then Kanako says "wait, wait, I'm gonna take a wild guess here. After going through hell and back, Ail forgot something along the way and now is going through hell again to recover that which he forgot, is that it?"

Rika flinches, Reimu twitches, and Budou panics and flies away toward Suwako after seeing Sanae's unsettling worry-rage-face.

Without thinking of the consequences, Sanae grabs Reimu by her shirt, lifts her up to her own face, and with glowing rage-filled eyes she shouts "what happened now!?"

Reimu sweats and hesitantly says "well... you see..."

Before she can answer, two blobs suddenly drop from the sky; one for Suwako, the other for Sanae.

Kanako and Rika are trapped outside the domes this time, however, they watch as another dome falls nearby, so they look at each other, then Rika shouts "my lady, if it's ok, we'll head out and help the tengu!"

From inside, Reimu shouts "you go ahead! I'm breaking this thing in just a moment anyway!"

Kanako shouts "Is Sanae doing alright!?" Reimu shouts back "not to worry you, but she was too agitated when this thing hit. Now STOP SHOUTING, you're breaking my concentration!"

Rika and Kanako look at each other, then Rika says "let's go help the tengu, then."

While they fly toward the tengu, Kanako looks suspiciously at Rika, and when Rika notices, she blushes and asks "wh-what is it miss Kanako?"

Kanako continues to stare suspiciously, then asks "Rika? Do you know your family name?"

Rika sighs and sadly says "no. I was found by some very special people. They saved me from dying... and that's all I can remember about my past."

Kanako drops the subject and says "I see. Sorry, I didn't mean to touch such a sensitive subject. Let's just help that tengu."

Rika nods, then says "yes. Lives are at stake!"

Again, Kanako looks at her suspiciously, then asks "ok, what do you know about Ail?"

-

Inside Sanae's black blob, Reimu sits in meditation while Sanae's face turns purple, her life slowly leaving as she tries to gasp for air.

Time is short, and Reimu knows this. She sweats while she breathes and meditates while holding on to a charm on her right hand, and her gohei on her left.

She quickly opens her eyes and expels air very suddenly, seemingly grunting and pushing forward with both hands while still holding the gohei and charm.

Several amulets fly all around her, shaping a circle in the air, and without breaking the formation, they stick to the black wall, shattering the black blob in an bright flash.

Sanae takes various deep breaths and coughs violently for some time. Reimu knows she'll be alright, so she rushes to the blob in which Suwako and Budou are in.

She shouts "BUDOU, SUWAKO!? Are you two alright in there!?"

From inside, Budou shouts "Hakurei sis! Big sister Suwako doesn't move. She's shivering a lot, but it's not even cold in here! What do I do!?"

Reimu shouts "first, you need to calm down..."

From inside the blob, a large spectral city surrounds Budou and Suwako, and every time nature tries to grow in this city, it's destroyed and removed by the foolish humans that disregard nature as being useful to them.

Suwako trembles and cries as she witness these events and repeats "but nature is there to provide for all... you fools *sob*"

Budou listens to Reimu as her voice faintly goes through the black orb's wall.

Budou takes a deep breath to calm herself down, then says "alright... I'm calm. Hakurei sis, how do I break this thing!?"

From outside, Reimu shouts "you have to find the wall and hit is hard with whatever you can!"

Sanae's voice adds "Budou... get your big sister out of there!"

Budou's face shows only determination now. She places her hands in front of herself and feels the wall, then shouts "mama, Hakurei sis! Stand back!"

Outside the blob, Sanae and Reimu look at each other with surprise, then a very familiar sound can be heard coming from inside the blob itself.

Reimu asks "is that a-"

Sanae hurriedly says "spell card... yes."

They continue to stare at each other, then both gasp and scream, jumping away just as a wave of green energy in the shape of a drill bursts right through the blob, obliterating it in the process, then disappearing quickly.

Sanae and Reimu quickly stand up and look toward where the blob was, finding Suwako sobbing on her knees, and a little further away is Budou, standing and casually waving at Reimu, then Sanae.

With a smile on her face, she triumphantly shouts "MAMA, Hakurei Sis! I did it! Look, I saved big sister!"

Reimu and Sanae exchange shocked looks across the shrine's courtyard, then they stare back at Budou in shock for a little while longer.

-

At the bottom of the waterfall, to the left side of the river, Aya tries to air-tackle the black blob that has Momiji trapped inside.

Rika and Kanako land close by, then Kanako asks "is she alone in there!?"

Aya ignores them and continues to air-tackle the blob, always getting bounced back until she tries one last time, giving it her all and some more, but only manages to hurt herself badly after bouncing back violently.

She falls on her back on the ground and grabs her right shoulder and screams for a moment, then stops as Rika kneels beside her and softly says "please calm down, miss Aya."

Aya says "Momiji's in there!"

Kanako asks again "is she alone in there?"

Aya recovers and manages to sit up, then says "n-no. The kappa was with her... Nitori. They were playing shogi when that thing landed right on top of them."

Rika whispers "good", then gets up and walks toward the blob, and after getting close enough she shouts "miss Nitori, can you hear me!?"

From inside, Nitori answers "yes, I can hear you! Who is this?"

Rika shouts "it's me, Rika. Miss Reimu's maid, but never mind that now!"

Kanako shouts "how is Momiji!?"

Inside the blob, Momiji is completely paralyzed, while specters of other tengu fly right through her, shouting many rude insults at her, then circle around her, shouting many more insults.

Nitori shouts "she's really cold, and she can't move! Also, I can't believe the tengu are so mean to each other."

Aya's specter sneers at Momiji while saying many horrible insults, making Nitori gasp and angrily say "oh my! That Aya's the WORST!"

From outside Aya shouts "HEY! What did I ever do to you!?"

Nitori looks confused as she asks "huh? How can you be out there when you're in here?"

Kanako shouts "never mind that!"

Rika continues "yes! Miss Nitori, you have to break this blob from the inside. Do you have anything you can use to break it's wall?"

Nitori smirks, her eyes glint, and from her backpack, several mechanical arms pop out, some with drills, some with iron balls, and two with a pair of hands holding wooden clubs.

With a glint on her eyes and a wide smirk on her face, Nitori chuckles and shouts "stand back!"

Outside, Rika and Kanako look at each other curiously, while Aya quickly flies away from the blob, shouting "oy~! Get away from there!"

Rika and Kanako look curiously at Aya, when the blob behind them explodes, sending them flying far away, while Nitori comes out of it, cackling like a maniac while swinging her tools wildly in the air.

Once she realizes she's already out, she looks disappointed and says "aww~ Was that all? Oh well, I had my fun."

Nitori smiles and pulls back all the tools she had unleashed, then looks around and notices Kanako and Rika, side by side on the snow with their eyes spinning as they moan.

Nitori shrugs, then looks behind her, then watches as Aya embraces Momiji and says "it's alright, I got you. Remember what I told you about those things. Don't worry, you are no less than anyone."

Nitori smiles again, then says to herself "now that's how it should be."

She pulls a camera from one of the pockets in her skirt, takes a couple of pictures of Aya and Momiji hugging one-another, then casually walks away while whistling a tune to herself.

-

In hell, Ail is being bombarded from all sides by countless spirits and monsters that simply have nothing else to do while waiting to be punished.

Ail struggles to avoid being hit by the powerful and fast bullets, but he's out of his league, and some dangerous obstacles prevent him from moving too much.

Luck from Shou's blessing on his bracelet is the reason he's still alive, as all the bullets that have grazed him only open a small tear on the cloak, but thanks to both of Shinki's blessings on the bracelet and on the cloak itself, each tear patches up in seconds, though Ail can feel as though his skin is being cooked every time there's a tear, but the Hakurei blessing on his bracelet quickly heals his skin.

Ail instinctively knows that using his own powers while inside hell will give him away, but the blessings from Suwako allows him to break some stalactites, getting rid of a few enemies from the air, and a few others from the ground, and Kanako's blessing allows him to blow away most of the flying enemies and some of the floating platforms.

Even with all these blessings helping him, he knows if this keeps up, he's going to attract unwanted attention, so he decides to swoop down to the ground and hide inside a small cave on a tall purple wall.

Right after hiding, the shadow of two large yamas momentarily block out the light.

Ail peeks with his left eye and sees one tall and thin yama, dressed somewhat like Shikieiki, but the second one looks bulk, a little shorter than the first one, wears a navy-blue suit, and sports a large pair of red dragon wings.

Ail quickly hides when the bulky yama looks his way and with a gruff and deep voice he says "you ghouls better behave, or I'll give you all DOUBLE the punishment!"

The tall thin one, in a more elegant and calm tone of voice says "I swear, I thought I felt a living soul around here. Were you, by any chance, trying to have fun with our uninvited guest?"

None of the creatures speak, then the bulky yama's thunderous roar causes the entire area rumble and the spirits to run away, then he shouts "if I find anyone alive down here I'll make SURE to PERSONALLY take care of it!"

As they casually fly away, the tall yama calmly says "calm down. It's probably become ashes by now."

Ail waits inside the cave for quite a lot of time, making sure those yama are far away from where he is.

A pulsating energy that feels very familiar to him gets his attention, and as if in a trance, Ail exits the small cave and flies straight toward the source.

-

In Gensokyo, back at the Moriya Shrine, Sanae's scream of rage echoes all the way down to the village when she finds out about Ail.

She grabs Reimu by her shoulders, lifts her up on the air, and shakes her up violently as she shouts "why didn't you STOP HIM!?"

After being dropped, Reimu's world moves around a lot as she manages to say "I tried... but..."

Reimu finally recovers and says "the thing is, if he doesn't do this, we will all be affected by those blobs. Not just those whose shadows are dead."

Sanae drops to her knees, so before she can get up again, Budou, along with Phredia, jump on Sanae and embrace her tightly.

Budou says "mama, we have to trust papa Ail. I am sure he'll return."

Phredia rubs Sanae's cheek with her tiny hands, trying to comfort Sanae, who looks down to Budou and says "I'm sorry, Budou. I am sure this must hurt you too... and you, Reimu. I didn't mean to snap like that."

Rika and Kanako look at each other for a moment, then back at Sanae, then Rika says "he's got you and little miss Budou to return to. I'm sure that's why he wanted us to tell you the truth if you asked."

Sanae sighs loudly, then starts to rub Budou and Phredia's heads with her hands, then says "well, those two sha... I mean, angels, placed their blessings on him, right?"

Reimu nods, then says "but I would have never allowed him to go. What he's doing is a reckless and desperate attempt for peace of mind, and I don't like it."

From the shrine's porch, Suwako says "Reimu, don't forget that we all have our own paths to tread..."

While Suwako's voice echoes, the scene changes to that of Remilia, crouching on the floor and looking away from a spectral mirror that makes her look like an adult who decays quickly, then vanishes.

Suwako continues "you also mentioned these tests he must endure, Reimu. You should have expected something like this to happen, especially since it was the yama herself that told you about this."

Remilia looks up to the mirror again, then screams and tries to attack it, but the mirror moves away from her reach.

Suwako continues "besides, each and every one of us, even us gods, must go through these tests in life, even if they seem inhuman and just plain cruel."

Remilia finally summons the courage to chase the mirror and strike it with her claws, striking the blob's wall instead and breaking free.

She lets herself fall on her back on the floor and breathes in deeply, feeling relief in her.

The scene changes back to Suwako in the Moriya Shrine, just as Sakuya rushes to her mistress' side.

Suwako finishes saying "maybe this is part of that test. Maybe it wasn't really over. Maybe it'll continue until he learns the lesson he needs to learn. One encouraging thing about him..."

Everyone in the shrine stares silently at Suwako as she smiles at them and says "is that he's consciously taking on these tests without questioning them once. Or haven't you noticed?"

Aya and Momiji look at each other, then at Reimu, who says "I... guess you're right. Well, regardless of what Shiki said to me, Ail can count on me and all his friends, I don't care if I'm interfering or not!"

Sanae nods and says "and he knows he can count on me, and lady Yasaka and lady Moriya... when they are behaving."

The goddesses blush, but smile and nod, then Budou says "and I'll become even stronger and help papa much, much more. You'll see!"

Everyone in the shrine smile, but keep quiet.

-

Back in the depths of hell, Ail find himself floating above a great lake of magma.

In its center floats a white platform, and on that platform is the evil red spirit that once possessed Ail.

The spirit's deep and ominous voice echoes to Ail "welcome, little soul. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

The sword the shadows gave Ail positions itself right in front of Ail and points itself to the spirit.

He laughs and says "I see. So you figured it out. I am actually surprised. Tell me, did you like how all that power felt? How all that rage and hatred mixed inside of you, giving you STRENGTH, giving you POWER!"

Ail silently glares back to the spirit through his left eye, then thinks "the moment I touch this sword the yamas will learn of my presence here. Not only that, but I'm sure it'll melt. I need to get closer before I try anything."

Ail slowly flies closer to the spirit while it says "do you really believe I'll just let you reach me?"

In an instant, the spirit shoots various "Spear of Gungnir" straight at Ail, then unleashes "Knockout in 3 Steps" so fast, Ail is almost caught by some of the smaller bullets.

Ail continues to get closer, and the spirit fires Ran's "Wizard Fox Thoughts" and Patchouli's "Philosopher Stone", then takes the shape of Ail's silhouette.

Every single bullet veers away from Ail as he gets closer to the red spirit, who laughs just as Ail reaches him, then says "you won't be able to find my tail now, little soul."

Ail continues to glare with his left eye, then notices the shape the spirit took is just an illusion, and can see its tail right by the silhouette's translucent neck.

Just like Ail predicted, the second he touches the sword it melts down rapidly, but Ail slashes quickly enough to cut the spirit's tail with the broad bottom of the sword.

The spirit starts to scream loudly as its tail gets cut off and falls to the magma after bouncing off the platform, and Ail manages to let go of the swords just before the hilt melts in his hands.

All that's left of the sword is the triangular red gem that rested on its hilt.

The spirit falls on the platform and writhes around as if in pain.

Ail turns around and slowly flies away with the gem floating around him, surrounded in a yellow aura. The spirit begins to laugh, progressing to a loud cackle, then says "you may have cut the bond, but I'll never leave you, Ail. It may take me years, but I'll link to your fate AGAIN! I will turn your life and twist it into a living hell. Just wait and see!"

Ail lifts his right arm, signaling an uncaring farewell, then speeds up, anxious to get back to the surface.

After Ail leaves, a shadow looms over the evil red spirit.

A girl asks "why do you want to torment that soul so?"

The spirit answers "because it's fun for me. Seeing him and all those around him struggle needlessly is an amusement I can't get enough of."

Shikieiki floats in front of the spirit, shocking and surprising it, then says "you will no longer interfere with his life."

She draws a magical symbol in the air with her sword, while Komachi, who's behind the spirit, makes a triangle inside a large circle and some symbols, using the same magic as Shikieiki.

Scared, the spirit asks "w-what are you doing? NO! You can't!"

Raising her voice, Shikieiki says "a soul like yours doesn't deserve the chances YOU'VE been given. By the power invested in me, I, Shikieiki Yamaxanadu condemn you to an eternity frozen in time!"

After she says these words, both symbols glow light blue, and the spirit's voice is silenced.

The red spirit is now encased in a light blue crystal; a crystal similar to the one that had Agava imprisoned in the former hell.

Shiki strikes the crystal with her sword, sending it down to the depths of the magma lake.

As it sinks, sounding very concerned, Komachi says "Shiki-sama, you realize the trouble you'll get into once they find out about this!"

Shikieiki smiles lightly and says "all the proper paperwork has been filled. I got permission to do this, directly from the bosses themselves. We won't be seeing that spirit anymore."

Komachi smiles, feeling relieved after hearing that, then Shikieiki hurriedly says "come, we're not done yet!" Komachi smiles and says "right! Let's go!"

-

In Gensokyo, right after Ail cuts the tail off the spirit, the remaining black blobs break up, one by one.

Byakuren cries as she witnesses many spectral humans banding together and killing spectral youkai in front of her eyes, all to see her suffer.

Right after the orb brakes, she falls on her knees, and just before she falls to the ground completely, Minamitsu manages to reach her and grab her, keeping her torso up.

At Entei, Eirin and Reisen's orbs break at the same time, then both are helped by their friends, Tewi and Kaguya, to stand back up.

At the Garden of the Sun, Elly and Kurumi rapidly punch the black blob form the outside, calling out to Yuka.

The orb breaks apart, and kneeling in the center, covering her eyes with her left hand, while holding her parasol with her right, Yuka slowly stands up, then walks to her subordinates.

Elly asks "miss Yukarin, are you alright?"

Yuka wraps her arms around both girls, shocking Elly and frightening Kurumi, then says "I will be, very soon." then tightens her grip on them.

At Makai, Alice and Mai hold Shinki on her feet, and right after the blob breaks away, Yumeko runs to them and looking very concerned, she checks on Shinki.

At the Netherworld, Yuyuko's blob breaks, revealing Yuyuko shedding tears while standing still and staring at the sky.

Youmu rushes to her and asks "Yuyu-sama, are you alright!?"

Yuyuko turns her head to face Youmu, and with tears in her eyes, she smiles and nods.

At Mayohiga, Ran holds both Chen and Yukari and cries "I'm so sorry! Chen, Lady Yukari, I'm sorry~! I should have been there with you!"

Yukari looks a little shaken, but calmly says "Ran, it's ok... it's over now."

At the Human village, the large black blob that was consuming the town's center shatters away, and at the center, Kyo holds Maribel, while Luna holds Renko on her feet.

Keine and Medicine rush to them, asking worriedly about the girls' conditions.

Meanwhile, at the Moriya Shrine. Everybody seems more relaxed, all sharing casual conversation, when Budou suddenly stands up and shouts "Papa! He's coming home! Papa, I'm coming!"

Before anyone can even get close to her, she flies away, toward the Sanzu River at great speed, leaving everyone, even Phredia behind.

Sanae shouts "Budou, wait for us!" then flies after her with Phredia on her shoulder.

Without saying another word, everybody else lift to the air and follow after Budou. Everyone, except for Aya, who stays behind a little longer and takes a few pictures of the kitchen, saying "ooh, so many things from the outside world. This should make a GREAT story."

After that, she runs outside and flies after the large group.

-

Ail reaches Shikieiki's court room again, but to his dismay, when he pushes the gate open, Shikieiki looks at him and says "Komachi, he must be in this room somewhere."

Komachi frantically looks around and says "don't worry Shiki-sama, I'm on it. That intruder can't stay hidden from me!"

Ail sweats and thinks "can't they see me? Maybe it's the mask."

Shiki looks at Ail and loudly says "it would be BAD if the culprit heads out that DOOR."

While saying this, she signals Ail to head to the entrance with her eyes, then continues to say "but once he's outside those DOORS, he's free from any trouble, so don't let him get away."

Komachi moves away from the door while looking around the floor and says "yes, Shiki-sama! Don't you worry, your Komachi is here. He won't escape."

Ail smiles behind the mask, then quickly and quietly walks toward the exit, and leaves through the door, closing it immediately behind him.

Once he leaves, Shikieiki bangs hard on her desk and with an inevitable smile she says "darn it, he got away!"

Komachi smiles back and rubs the back of her head while saying "whoops. Sorry Shiki-sama!"

They stare at each other for some time, then both start to chuckle.

Outside, Ail continues the walk back to the river, which takes him another 30 minutes.

When he reaches the shore, he notices Komachi standing by in her boat and looking toward Gensokyo's shore.

She looks back at Ail and says "all aboard for Gensokyo. Last call."

Ail smiles behind his mask again and immediately walks over.

Komachi pushes the boat away from the shore and says "you know, you can take those off now."

Ail obediently takes off the mask and pulls the cloak open.

He smiles at Komachi and says "I feel so much lighter now."

Komachi smiles while rowing the boat, then a familiar song reaches both their ears.

Komachi smiles and says "it's thanking you for saving its life earlier."

Ail smiles some more and replies "well, I really couldn't leave it to die like that."

Komachi giggles and then sounding more serious she says "you took a great risk, but I'm glad you took it. I'm even happier that you managed to come back alive."

Ail sighs and says "honestly... I'm glad too."

-

When Komachi and Ail arrive to the shore, they are met with a surprise.

All of Ail's friends are waiting to welcome him back.

Budou, Reimu, Sanae, the goddesses, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Entei, the Myouren Temple, and even Yuka, Elly and Kurumi.

Elly looks at Yuka and asks "so that's Ail?"

Komachi chuckles and immediately she and Ail disembark.

The first one to reach Ail is Budou, who excitedly shows Ail her first spell card while he holds her in his arm.

Ail looks shocked at her, then looks at Reimu, Sanae and the goddesses. They all shrug while smiling, then rush to him to give him one big group hug.

Night at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Everyone has gathered there to listen to Ail's tale, though he omits a few details, especially those concerning the two yamas he saw.

After finishing his story, everyone enjoys some party favors. Remilia and Flandre even try a singing act that ended with Flandre storming out of the stage right after Remilia calls her "tone-deaf".

After going to the bathroom, Aya re-enters the party room, where before she says anything, everyone stares at her and says "AYAYAYAYA~"

Aya's face turns blue, so she quietly walks back into the bathroom and shuts the door.

The party is about to end, when Ail takes the stage again and stares at all his old and new friends.

Everyone quiets down after noticing Ail on the stage, and after they sit down, Ail says "my friends. Thank you all so much. Thank you for being my friends, even though I cause so much trouble."

From the tables, Orin shouts "don't talk like that, bro!"

Everyone agrees and before he can realize it, he's shedding some tears while smiling at them.

Everyone gets quiet again, then Reimu softly asks "are you really going to do this?"

Budou hears Reimu and asks "do what? Hakurei sis...?"

Budou notices Sanae being comforted by the goddesses while looking sadly at Ail, then Budou asks "what's going on?"

Ail continues "as some of you may know, something terrible happened between me and 3 very dear friends. We exchanged some hurtful words, and we almost even killed each other."

Budou flies to the stage and looking worried she asks "papa, what's going on!?"

Ail kneels down to look at Budou's face, then hands a key to her and with a smile he says "Budou, I am so proud of you. You've become strong at such a young age, and you even got your own spell card now. I feel much better doing this, now that I know how strong you really are."

Budou gasps and says "the key to papa's house?"

Ail's voice cracks a little, but he manages to smile and say "I'm sorry Budou, but I'm leaving Gensokyo."

Budou tosses the key at his face and flaps her wings furiously, while all the other guests, even Remilia and Flandre look at him with a disappointed and surprised expression.

Byakuren shouts "Ail, don't do this!"

Budou hyperventilates, then lightly punches Ail various times on the chest, saying "papa, that is a MEAN JOKE!"

She starts to cry and shouts "that's not funny, papa!"

Ail sighs and forces Budou on to his arms, calming her down a little, but still, she cries.

Reimu looks away, spotting Marisa sneaking around the other rooms in the mansion. She wants to go to her friend, but Marisa quickly vanishes into another room.

-

Budou continues to cry on Ail's shoulder, so Kyo takes this opportunity to say "dammit Ail, what sort of hare-brained scheme are you up to now!? How can you do that to Budou like that!?"

Ail stands up and says "know this. I will not be gone forever. Just long enough!"

Remilia flies closer and furiously shouts "long enough for WHAT!?"

Ail calmly says "long enough to find out where I truly belong."

Remilia and everyone in the room quiet down, and even Budou stops crying.

Ail salutes his friends and says "until our next meeting everyone! Farewell."

Ail grabs the key to his house and places it on Budou's pocket, then climbs down the stage, immediately heading straight to Reimu's table, where Kyo, Reimu and Sanae wait for him.

Kyo glares angrily at Ail and says "I should PUMMEL you where you stand, Ail!"

Ail sits Budou and Reimu's lap, then pulls out two simple-looking golden whistles.

He hands one to Reimu and the other to Budou, then whispers "if you ever need to contact me for whatever reasons, blow on these. Once you do, give me 30-40 seconds, but I'll be here."

Budou sobs and asks "you won't abandon me, right?"

Ail brushes the side of Budou's hair and says "NEVER! I would NEVER abandon you. I promised to take care of you, Budou, and to that promise I will hold. But right now, I need to do this, and knowing how well you're taking care of yourself tells me it's the right moment to do so."

Reimu pats Budou's head after she sobs again, then Ail says "Kyo, Reimu, Budou, and Sanae. I swear to you all, I will return, but... I just don't know when. Now, only the 4 of you know about these whistles. Don't tell anyone! Not the goddesses, not Luna, not even my own mother if she comes to visit."

All quietly nod, Budou sniffling as the rubs her nose with her sleeve.

Phredia flies from under Budou's hair and gives Ail a light hug on the shoulder. Ail pats her little head and says "you keep Budou safe, you hear?"

Phredia nods, then heads back to Budou to help comfort her.

Ail stands up straight and opens a gap to his mother's house behind himself, then looks back at all his friends.

Now, even the two goddesses have tears in their eyes. Ail takes a deep breath and says "farewell everyone. I will certainly miss you while I'm gone."

Before he leaves, Sanae summons up the courage to give Ail a tight hug, then with a cracked voice she says "you take care and come back soon."

As soon as they let go, Budou flies to Ail and give him yet another hug and says "you come back, like you promised! You come back and very soon, alright papa!"

Ail replies "I will. I give you all my promise."

After gently placing Budou on the flor, he enters through the gap, then turns around and says "you take care of the house while I'm gone, ok Budou!? Take care."

The gap closes up and slowly disappears.

Budou drops on her knees and starts to cry again, then Sanae and Reimu both kneel down beside her and gently rub her head.

Outside the mansion, Kimi, Kali, Letty, Daiyousei and Cirno watch the events of the party.

Cirno's tears fall non-stop, turning into tiny ice cubes before landing on the snow-covered ground below.

Cirno asks Letty "why... why am I crying? I'm the strongest, I shouldn't be crying."

Daiyousei pats Cirno's head while Letty answers "even the strongest can cry, Cirno. Those tears you shed aren't those of weakness, but of love for your friends... which is strange for a fairy."

Cirno smiles while rubbing her eyes, then says "then I truly must be the strongest!"

Beside Kimi, S-Suwako materializes with a smile on her face as she stares at Cirno. Kimi looks at her for a moment, then bows her head.

At the outside world, at Ayalina's house.

Ail knocks on the door a few times before he hears his mother saying in a sweet tone of voice "this better be an emergency~ or there's going to be one~!"

When she opens the door and sees Ail standing there, she gasps and exclaims "AIL!? What's the matter!? Why are you here!? What happened!?"

Ail smiles casually and asks "mom... can I stay here for a couple of days?"

-

2 MONTHS LATER

Noon at the Hakurei Shrine.

Rika stands beside Yukari, then bows to Reimu and with a smile she says "remember miss Reimu, I should be gone only 3 days! If anything should arise I'll let miss Yukari know so she can tell you."

Reimu smiles back, but doesn't reply.

Rika smiles again and grabs her mistress' hands and says "I won't leave you, miss Reimu. I will come back! I promise."

Reimu's eyes turn watery and a small tear escapes her left eye, then says "alright. You do what you need to do, Rika. I'll await for your return."

Rika giggles and smiles angelically, then says "wait for me, miss Reimu. I will be back. That's a promise I make to you."

Yukari stares at Rika from over her fan and says "well, shall we?"

Rika smiles and places her hand in front of her chest and with a light bow she says "let's!"

Before entering the gap she turns around and says "miss Reimu, miss Sanae, little miss Budou, miss Mima, lady Shiki, and miss Komachi! I'll see you all soon. Take care!"

Form inside the shrine everyone stares at Rika and wave their hands while saying "see you soon!" Budou adds "take care!"

Rika bows one more time, then jumps inside the gap, followed quickly by Yukari, who waves at Reimu and says "I'll be back shortly", then disappears into her gap along with Rika.

With a heavy heart, Reimu goes back inside the shrine, and already she feels something's missing.

Budou flaps her wings, knocking Phredia off them, and says "miss Reimu, please don't feel sad now! You promised to help me get stronger and we haven't done anything yet!"

Reimu lazily walks to the kotatsu and lets her whole torso drop down on the table as she kneels beside it.

Sanae, showing some sympathy, says to Reimu "don't feel so bad, miss Reimu. It's only for a few days."

Shiki adds "miss Reimu, you shouldn't let things like these weigh you down."

Reimu sighs and says "Ail leaves Gensokyo, and barely two months pass and Rika has to leave too. Shiki, why is everyone leaving?"

Shikieiki says "so that they may return stronger than they were before, miss Reimu."

Budou flaps her wings again, however Phredia flies away before being blown away again.

Budou pokes Reimu's hip and says "miss Reimu, come on, I need to get stronger too!"

Reimu asks "but why did they have to leave?"

Shiki replies "it's just another road in life. They'll be back, and I guarantee, when they do you won't even recognize them."

Budou thinks for a moment and asks "is that a good thing?"

Shiki smiles and says "in this case, it will be."

From the door, Kyo says "don't worry about your training, Budou. I'll take care of that, if it's alright with you."

Budou exclaims "large brother!"

Kyo twitches and says to himself "again with the large!"

He walks over to Reimu and Sanae, then says to them "you two listen to the yama. She knows what she's saying!"

Reimu chuckles and says "yeah... I guess you're right. We'll just have to be patient. Right Sanae?"

Sanae smiles and says "of course, miss Reimu! In fact, we should prepare a party for when they return!"

Kyo shouts "now you're talking!"

Mima opens a bottle of sake and says "why not party now!?"

Kyo replies "ALRIGHT!"

From outside, the sound of sake being poured can be heard, then Mima saying "let's drink until we can't drink anymore, hunk!"

From the village, Luna screams "KYO~~!", causing a powerful rumble that reaches the shrine.

Kyo asks Mima "you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

-

2 MORE MONTHS LATER

Spring has come.

The snowstorms are over, and trees are starting to recover their leaves.

At the Garden of the Sun, Yuka casually walks by the flowerbed that used to have the colossal blue flower Ail had revived for her.

She stops in front of it and when she takes a closer look she curiously asks herself "huh? What's this? You're growing back after all?"

That very same flower that died the day Ail battled the goddesses is growing once more, this time with blue and white petals.

Yuka kneels down and gently passes a finger on one of the white petals, noticing immediately how much softer they are, compared to the blue petals.

She stands up, looks to the sky, then says "and it begins once again."

At the Forest of Magic, there is a whistling sound that echoes all around the forest.

After some time, in the center of a small clearing, a gap violently opens up, violet bolts flying around as Ail falls through the gap and lands on the ground on his back.

He's full of cuts, wounds and bruises and looks very frightened.

He slowly stands on his feet and looks around, and sounding scared and confused he says "I... I know this place."

From behind, an arm covered only by a small puffy white sleeve by the shoulder places itself on Ail's shoulder, making him flinch and jump away.

A familiar voice says "whoa, calm down. It's just me! Marisa, ze."

Ail narrows his eyes to focus his sight and asks "Ma... Marisa?"

-

One Random Sukima

The End

Characters, spell cards and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Budou, Phredia, Agava, Kyo, Luna, Ayalina, Kimi & Kali were created by Willie G.R.

Rika was created by Snapshot2010

JAN 28 2010

Written by

Willie G.R.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Ok, so I told a little fib when I said it was over before, but you're not mad, right? And with this, I open the curtains for my next Sukima. I wonder if I write too much? Are my chapters too long, or are they alright the way they are? Well, I can say I like them. I REALLY enjoyed writing them. Oh, as for little Budou's spell card... well I'm not letting you know it's name yet, or how it works. Just know she's growing up, although a little too fast. Well, she DOES want to help her papa more, and the messes he gets into are not to be taken lightly. Ah well, for those who read these last words, thank you for reading, and I truly hope you have enjoyed the read. Take care everyone. See you next Sukima.**


End file.
